


Drink the Water

by Wildeve_of_the_Heath



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Drug Abuse, F/F, F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2015-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-16 09:59:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 39,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4621071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wildeve_of_the_Heath/pseuds/Wildeve_of_the_Heath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ymir lives as a landlord who houses felons and runaways, so long as she gets paid she could care less about what you've done to fuck up your life. When one of her tenants gets a bullet to the head, she's left with another unwanted tenant she has to evict; the only issue is that the tenant ways a ton.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Song was inspired by Justin Cross's song "Drink the Water".
> 
> Initial setting of the story was inspired by my hometown and neighboring areas, particularly the Los Angeles area in California, US.

A plume of hot air produced a mist when she exhaled it into the frost.

Desert nights were always the coldest part of the clock, one that Ymir reveled in as she snuffed out a cigarette. Sitting underneath a juniper tree was the last thing she wanted to do, especially at this time. When the coyotes were yipping on the mountain sides broke the sounds of the highway half a mile away, she pulled her jacket tighter over her shoulders.

Her leather clad boots scuffed against the barren dirt, kicking up small dust to be picked up by the light breeze. She was growing bored, she fought the urge to light another cigarette- she started heading back to the main road to where she parked her Harley.

She absently shoved her key into the ignition and brought it to life, the roar comforting her leather clad hands.

It was quiet that night, very quiet, save for her engine as she rolled down the dirt road and sent plumes of dirt flying from under her wheel. The peace in the blackness made her fidget, even in her seat as her headlight revealed the road ahead of her.

Ymir drove on, it felt like the road led to nowhere, but then it broke off into the main road where black asphalt lined with yellow broken lines gave her a new sight.

Being here, it was endless, the monotony, she wished something would happen, something big.

The last shoot-out was three months ago, and she wasn't even there to get involved, much to her disappointment.

The last brush fire was three years ago and despite the town being covered in dried brush, no one was willing to light it like a matchbox.

The last earthquake was ten years ago, the only damage came in the form of the Trost's only McDonald's sign collapsing and killing Berwik in his truck.

Overall, as of late, nothing eventful was happening, even when she tapped into the drug ring, it was a dead circuit. Just now she tried it, just now she was duped on a deal, just now she was already done with it.

Just like Trost.

The town of Trost was a place that was nestled at the last footsteps of the Rose Mountains, just an hour's drive away from Mitras, the main city south of the state. It was a place deader than death- endless spans of wide plains and tall hills, golden seas of dried brush of uncleared plots went as far as the eye can see, fenced properties of the rich blocked off the hicks from the rich (there this was the upper-class part of Trost, often called Hermiha- there was an invisible boundary), and trailers and beat down cars spotted the land.

Horses and quads were the only sources of the sane local's entertainment- this was an old mining town that kept its Western theme.

The insane stuck to their guns and drugs.

Old buildings from a century ago composed of the town's business area where the 104 freeway ramped in and out of, bringing in tourists and travelers to rest or refuel. The buildings were restored and given the modern blessings of plumbing and electricity, the industries could only touch this town for so much- the only thing that operated as a bank was a lonesome ATM in the Shell station, it hadn't worked for as long as Ymir knew.

As she arrived into town, she went on, going by the usual drinkers that roamed the streets happily, even the goddamn sheriff was piss drunk with his officer.

Ymir parked under an overhanging roof that shaded cars with its wooden planks, her key went back to its place at her belt as she dismounted and strode into the Three Walls Bar- it was a rundown establishment where smoke and laughter filled the air; it too was themed as one of those bars in those Clint Eastwood movies as the doors swung- this town was too lax to care about locks.

She undid the zipper to her leather coat and then hung it on a rack to reveal her black tank top.

Just as the next person in the room, she was dressed just as rugged- she sported torn jeans over these riding boots that had holes in them. Tank tops were her usual thing, only to display the pair of near realistic wings stretched over her breast collar; on her back was another one but she never felt like displaying that one. Always, always, always, the bottoms of her jeans were stained brown from the dirt- she truly lived in dirt.

She ruffled her loose locks and made her way to a table to where Sasha was sitting at.

Unlike her, she wore this faded white blouse shirt as she had a long skirt on. She had just gotten out of the night service and was too lazy to change out.

Sasha was one of those Baptists, she was a kind person, good, but poor. She and her father owned a failing cattle ranch a few miles away, as part-time her father was the town's only pastor, she worked under him as his assistant and coordinator. Ymir used to attend his services as a child, used to, but she fell out of it- regardless, she and Sasha were on good terms.

Sasha, however, had a single flaw- she binged. This time, she binged on drinks. Usually Connie would be here to help her out but he wasn't there, oddly enough.

"Hey, where's Connie?" Ymir asked her, boot nudging her ankle.

"I-unno," Sasha slurred as she looked up from her chips.

"You're funny," Ymir huffed,"is he off baptizing himself in Vaseline?"

Sasha shrugged and struggled to stay in her seat.

"Tch." Ymir was usually amused by Sasha drunk, but tonight, she didn't feel like being in the mood to watch her.

She wanted to come here for a drink yet that appetite faded away at the sight of her old friend. All she wanted to do was go home now and just be done with tonight. Just as she was about to get up, Sasha's hand caught her bare wrist.

"Can ya...take me home?" Sasha begged her.

Ymir simply shrugged, she may as well make the trip to the bar worth it as Sasha would owe her for the next favor; she went off to fetch her coat, then returned. Ymir leaned down, helped Sasha up, and guided her out the door, past the biker gang that stood outside (she didn't recognize them as their insignia wasn't local) and then to her own ride. As she aided Sasha onto her bike, she heard a few of the obnoxious men call out to her.

"Damn, that's one sweet ride, honey!"

Ymir only flipped him off and sped down the road, ignoring their disappointed groaning.

Sasha clung to her waist and was humming sharply, much to Ymir's annoyance.

"If you don't shut up, I'm dropping you back at the bar and letting those guys have fun with you," Ymir threatened.

"That ain't nice, `mir," Sasha whined,"ya wouldn't do that!"

"Maybe I would," Ymir huffed.

The rest of the ride was quiet save for Sasha nearly throwing them off balance but Ymir managed to drive by the empty feed lots and up a gravel path to the two-story house that Sasha called home. Once she dropped her off, and after having to deal with Sasha consistently hugging her, Ymir was back on the road to home.

About three miles away from Sasha's place was Ymir own shit hole. It was an unclosed property that was about ten acres, on it, most noticeable a mile away, was a red barn- there used to be horses in that filled the twelve stalls but now only one remained, an old gray horse that was gelded in his younger years.

She popped by the barn to feed him, he knickered at her as usual before going to his hay. He was something that she had that she kept from her childhood, while he was old he still kicked happily, something she loved about him, though his use had dwindled over time.

Getting back onto her bike, she rode the rest of it back to her run-down ranch house. It was only a single story, four bedrooms, a large living room, a small kitchen, and a three car garage that had been converted into a workshop. There, when bored, she was off fixing cars brought in by the townspeople...if they ever came by.

All of her customers were dead.

A few of their bikes were still in the garage but she scrapped them for parts.

She got off of her bike and lifted up the garage door, she wheeled it in, engine off, and slid the door close, hitting the lock to prevent any stragglers from getting in. It had happened before, it ended with her digging ten feet down, the body's head facing up.

She clapped her hands together, then removed her gloves to shove them into the back of her jeans.

Ymir entered the kitchen from the garage, the door was an announcement for Jean to turn his head around to look at her from her spot on the couch.

"Sup?" Jean greeted her while facing the tv. "Did it go well?"

"Got stood up, fucker never even sent a call," Ymir cursed as she went over to the moth eaten sofa and hopped over the headrest to sit next to him. Jean gave her his bottle of beer. "How do you even work like this? I'm surprised you even pay your rent this way."

"He may have thought you were from the FBI-"

"FBI don't wear leather jackets and drive Harleys," Ymir pointed out as they absently watched the football game.

Jean Kirstein was someone she knew back in school, he too dropped out at a later year as he found business in drug dealing. Ever since he discovered the beauty of cash flow, he fucked off out of education and made a stake in life. He still had that stupid two-toned hair and his long face brought her horse Titan to shame, she often refrained from calling him "horseface" as it was a nick-name reserved for some other bastard.

He spent his years living with Ymir, their relationship was mutual. He paid rent either too short or too late, but he made sure to pay.

Other than that, she kept her distance from him for most times.

Another hapless person living with her was a secretive woman, her cousin Ilse Langnar. She stayed in her room, holed up for days at a time. More or less, she was the only family she had and, by obligation, allowed her to stay with her; she was independent and cared for herself. She spent her time writing endlessly in books, obsessing over words like some sort of freak.

The only person who ever dropped by in her room was Hanji Zoe, a failed doctor who had her license revoked after drugging her patients to death during surgeries; she had a few accounts of murder under her belt, though she claimed they were accidents, and managed to wing prison, escaping as a fugitive and finding herself living under Ymir's roof.

She was batshit insane to a point where Ymir sniffed her drinks and slept with one eye open, she steered clear of her unless rent had to be paid. So long as Ilse was alive and unhurt, Ymir was less than bothered to have them interact.

In truth, all this living with her wasn't so much of a big deal, Ymir simply couldn't give enough fucks.

"One day they'll come barging into your house for one of us," Jean said, picking at his ear.

"Damn, I wonder why. We got a small time drug dealer, a fugitive fuck, and someone who's housing them without reporting them," Ymir listed them off as she counted with her fingers.

"Surprised you hadn't kicked us out."

"Gotta make money somewhere."

"Too lazy to break your back?"

Ymir snorted. "I've already done that."

It went quiet between the two.

The Legionaries scored a touchdown against the Apaches, another predictable game. Ymir sighed and got up, utterly spent for the day.

"Later," she said as she dragged herself to her room.

Jean didn't reply as she slammed the door behind her.

Without thinking or taking off her clothes, she threw herself down to her worn, uncovered mattress and passed out.

The following morning, her alarm clock came in the form of shouts and gunshots- it was just another shitty day.


	2. Chapter 2

If anyone could piss off Ymir in this town faster than she can smell bullshit, or shit, it had to be Reiner.

He was a heavily built man, bulky, who always saunters around with a taller fellow and an unbelievable short blond, Bertolt and Annie respectively. They were a trio who went back beyond years that Ymir could count on her hands and toes. She always found them as a disturbance, whether they were doing so or not, just being in the same radius set her off.

Both dressed raggedly, just as her, with little care for clothes. Most often they would be found wearing these flannels, though Annie had a tendency to take the hem and lift it higher to reveal her toned belly as it was tied up right under her non-existent breasts. Roughed up jeans and biker boots, they discarded their old jackets were discarded only a few years ago as Ymir took down most of their organization single-handed out of whim- well, she was drunk.

With a group being in the same bar as her, while she and them were drunk, she lost her temper over a poker game.

Fireworks went off and twelve graves were dug for the gang.

Grudges were held long after, every once in a while Ymir received a wake up call.

Today was one of those days.

And she hated them.

She threw herself out of bed, boots still on her, and reached for a pump-action shotgun that hung off a stand nailed to the wall.

Jean was already up and arms, Magnum in hand, barking at her,"They're here!"

Ymir rolled her eyes as she followed him down the hallway. As she rounded a corner, a white blur came out of the corner of her eye and collided with her, throwing her against a beer tower Jean built out of boredom. Ymir picked herself up from the cans and glared up to see Hanji, still in her pajamas and only wearing robes, hands waving frantically- she was in hysterics.

"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!" Hanji cried.

More alarming to Ymir was the fact that her white robed sleeves were covered in blood, red fresh blood.

"Hanji, what the fuck!?" Ymir yelled at her, angered and confused- she shouldn't have been surprised to see Hanji donning blood but for once, there was a sinking feeling. Normally the woman would be smiling maniacally but now she was frantic. "The fuck is that!?"

"I-Ilse!" Hanji stuttered, hopping about in her loafers, she pointed to Ilse's door to where there were bullet holes riddling the planks.

Ymir didn't need any other explanation as she ducked to avoid a bullet that whizzed through a window, shattering it. She shoved Hanji to the wall and forced her to stay down as a car's engine from outside roared; the bastards were driving circles around the house.

Ymir crawled over to the door to enter Ilse's room. Usually the room was an organized mess with notebooks and papers stacked up as high as the ceiling- it was disheveled now. Blood bleed onto the loose pages that had fallen and amongst it all was Ilse face flat on the floor, blood pouring from her head and squirting out onto the gray stained carpet.

Ymir froze.

Goddamn.

She stared at her. Time to dig another grave.

"Fuck me," Ymir murmured as she looked out the window.

The duo had decided to drive off, done with their daily assault. Ymir shook her head, she didn't even have a chance to warm up her shottie.

Elsewhere, Hanji was getting to her feet to check the damage that they had wrought. She held the most shock as Ymir knelt by Ilse to see the bullet that riddled her temple- oh, she was definitely dead. Ymir began to pick her up.

"Go get a shovel, help me bury her," Ymir instructed as silence fell throughout the house.

Jean was still standing out on the back patio, aiming feverishly, barrel waving left and right. When the car had driven off, he relaxed and turned to see the mess of recluse. "Oh, well fuck me. She dead?"

Ymir nodded once as Hanji spoke up,"Bury her? No grave?! No mark!?"

"She don't have family but me, not really close to her. Ain't on the records either, would it really matter?"

Hanji grabbed at Ymir's sleeve, then her arm. "It matters to me!"

"Tell that to the other twenty people you killed for science," Ymir snorted, trying so hard not to laugh at sympathy that was so shallow, it made the desert look soaked with water.

Hanji fumed. "Who fed her and cared for her? Me! Who spoke to her when she was alone? Me!"

"Who injected her with morphine whenever she asked for it?" Ymir shot at her.

"That would be Jean, but that's not the point!" Hanji exclaimed, hand waving. "Isn't she family to you?"

"By blood, yeah-"

"Then bury her! I'll pay for it!"

Damn, she was persistent. Ymir glanced down at Ilse, the woman was dead in her arms, tongue sticking out with blood staining her freckles and caking her short hair. She then stared at Hanji's urgent face, then reluctantly agreed. "Fine, you arrange it. Take her."

Ilse was given to Hanji, besides, if she didn't agree, she would never have the ability to drink water from the tap without being suspicious of obtaining some sort of gastric infection. She shuddered at the thought as Jean had one gun slung over his shoulder, a beer bottle at hand- he tossed it over to her.

Just another day.

-...-

"We be gathered here today to mourn the loss of Ilse Langnar...a, um, uh," the Father began to stumble through it- there wasn't much to say about her.

The only ones in attendance in the desert landscape were Ymir, Hanji, and Jean, just those three. Then Sasha's father and Sasha herself were there, it was a small funeral as there were few that knew of Ilse's existence. That was why Ymir had spent the entire morning staring at a blond girl that had taken to attending the ceremony- it piqued her curiosity beyond anything.

The girl was small, just about Ymir's chest height- she was rather cute even as she wore black, she was looking at the ground, quiet, as they had just buried Ilse.

Soon after the mourning had finished, though Hanji spent most of the time bawling with Jean standing by her side, patting her shoulder, Ymir had taken to approach Sasha, eyes still fixated on the blond as she wandered beyond the graves, hand brushing against the crosses of the unmarked Chinese graves.

"Who that?" Ymir asked as she adjusted her hat. She had taken to wearing black slacks, black trench coat, and even a black gambler hat (one of those Western kinds) to complete her look. She reached into her coat pocket to pull out two cigarettes, one for her and Sasha. She lit them both and they walked opposite of where the girl had strode off to.

Sasha looked over at her, shovel in hand. "Oh, her? That'un there is Miss Reiss, daughter of Lod Reiss- man leaves'er here e'ry Sunday to pray with me an' Pa. Very good kid, good Christian- hell, pro'lly the only good Christian fer miles."

Ymir kept her eyes trained on her. "Call her over."

"Huh- Ymir, ya gotta be kiddin' me-"

"I just want to thank her for her condolences. She attended a stranger's funeral."

"She attends any funeral!"

Ymir scoffed and tossed the cigarette to the ground, snuffing it out with her boot. "Don't care, I feel like being nice today."

Sasha shook her head, then let out a sharp whistle as they took to standing by the church doors. The girl, this 'Miss Reiss', turned around from the graves and glanced over at them. Sasha waved her hand, gesturing her to come over- without question, she made her way. Ymir bit her bottom lip in anticipation, finding her form rather pleasing to look at.

Ymir took off her hat and held it by her chest.

"Miss Reiss, this is Ymir, she's Miss Langar's cousin," Sasha started.

Ymir offered her hand to her, smiling, in turn, Miss Reiss shook it. "Pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

Miss Reiss finally looked up at her to reveal the most beautiful pair of eyes that were bluer than the sky, Ymir nearly dropped her hat when the girl spoke,"Pleasure it is. I'm sorry about your loss, it must have been hard. If I may be too bold, what had...happened to her?"

"It was an accident, hunting accident," Ymir clarified. "Hunting quail, see? Ilse was always a klutz, took a spill off the rocks and set her gun on her head."

Miss Reiss's fair face contorted with shock and genuine sympathy, elsewhere, Sasha was shaking her head disapprovingly. "Oh, oh my..."

"Pretty horrid, my poor aching heart," Ymir emphasized as she brought her hat to her chest. "Girl never got to see twenty-one."

"Must be dangerous being a hunter," Miss Reiss said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

As Ymir nodded, a car pulled up. It was one of those nice, clean old fashion ones, a Ford Coupe, 1940s. It was black, sleek, polished to a point of where Ymir could see her reflection. At the driver's seat was an old man, his gaunt face was daunting but it didn't deter the fact that he was her father as the girl offered more sympathy.

"I'm sorry, Ymir, I have to go. Perhaps we can meet again," Miss Reiss said, apologizing as best she could.

Ymir mouthed,"Thank you," as the girl waved to both of them, she then made her way to the car to sit by her father.

As they drove away, leaving them in the dust, Ymir slapped Sasha on the shoulder with her hat. "Why ain't you telling me that flower grew here!?"

"`cuz yer Ymir!" Sasha said, glaring at her. "Miss Reiss is a nice girl, very nice, last thing I need is for ya'ta come'long and fuck her up!"

"Oh? Since when did the binge eating, booze loving, hypocritical pastor's daughter ever care about innocence?" Ymir snapped at her. "What's so special about her that you don't want me near her?"

"Her father's the reason why me'n Pa ain't livin' down at the bar," Sasha explained as she lead her into the chapel.

They took to sitting at one of the pews by the alter, Ymir reclined as she started smoking, to which Sasha easily disposed of it by ripping it from her mouth and shutting it between the pages of a Bible.

"No smokin' in the chapel, yu'll burn the rafters down!"

Ymir shrugged.

"Anyway, s'long as we keep this church open, her father funds us. Man's a big supporter of Christianity- girl moved in 'bout a near six months ago. Naturally, no'uns attending service so men' Pa keep the money for ourselves."

"No'uns attendin' cuz ya'll ain't got any rafters left'ta burn down," Ymir mocked her as she pointed up at the ceiling...well, what was there. About a decade ago, during the earthquake that killed Berwick, the structure of the old rafters collapsed, caving in the chapel partway. As a result, services were often held outside- no one had done a thing to repair it, no one attended since then.

It was surprising that Sasha's father was able to find a sponsor for this dump.

The man must have been blind to not notice the roof.

Sasha shook her head.

"Caught you there, idiot, I swear, you're worse than trash."

"It's called bein' desperate."

"How're we friends?"

"I dunno. I really dunno."

"Well, if you need a home and you...end up losing your ranch and stuff, I got an opening in mine," Ymir offered as she stood up.

"Cold much?"

"Nah, the temperature is perfect in Ilse's, hit's a good 70."

Sasha sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "So...now ya know Miss Reiss exists, ya gonna fuck this up fer me'n Pa?"

"Damn right I might. You said she comes here every Sunday?"

"E'ry Sunday, that's right."

"Call me a Christian then."


	3. Chapter 3

"Can ya quit that? Service is in half'n hour," Sasha scolded Ymir as she swatted the cigarette out of her hand.

Ymir left her hand overhanging from its spot. "Alright, Sasha, can't you tell time?"

Once again, the following week, they were sitting amongst the graves, waiting for service to start. Sasha's father was running late, as was the woman, Ymir waited for. She looked down at her watch, just a quarter until eight, then the pastor should arrive; another five minutes and his flock would return.

"I can tell decency," the brunette shot at her, glaring.

Ymir shrugged and stepped over to a stone cross to lean against it, arms crossed. Damn, she really wanted that cigarette, she didn't have time to light one that morning. She tapped her foot against a rock before punting it away at a decorative wagon that was displayed at the front of the chapel. Sasha paced back and forth, hands wrapping over one another.

"What're you doing that for? You're making me nervous," Ymir stated over her shoulder. "Walking around like that."

"I'm walkin' `cuz I'm thinkin' what c'rruption ya can give t'Miss Reiss," Sasha pressed on, she was persistent throughout the week about Ymir even uttering the name. She even attempted to bribe her with drinks to keep her from attending- all of those, Ymir declined and arrived at the chapel's doors. "Ya don't even know the girl, why ya gotta have interest now?"

Ymir snorted. "What's there to be interesting in this place?"

"I'm askin' why ain'tcha leavin' elsewhere?"

"No reason."

Well, there was a reason. That reason was why she couldn't go to school, couldn't land a job, couldn't pass a profiling to save her life. She simply let it roll off her shoulders, she had property, she had an income from those two, no longer three, idiots at home, there really wasn't a motivation to get out of there.

She was fine where she was.

"Here she comes," Sasha announced when an engine came rambling through in the distance.

Ymir sat up from where she had seated herself, atop an unmarked grave. Pastor Braus emerged from the chapel doors, his usual attire clothed him perfectly, though his sunken eyes and stench of breath of whiskey prevented him from being any close to God. Ymir quickly ruffled her hair and tucked it neatly under her hat, may as well look clean. She rolled her eyes at the sound of his belch.

"`mir, hadn't seen ya here since ya were yey high," Braus said as gestured to his waist.

"I was at the funeral last Sunday," Ymir sighed.

Braus gave her a dumb look. "Thought I's'un buryin' ya."

"Get your eyes checked, old man."

Sasha patted him on the back as the expensive car came to pull up at the door. "Don't worry, Pa, yer still a good man."

Miss Reiss stepped out of the car with the assistance of her father, he had aided her to her feet and then promptly returned to his seat. As quick as he came, he was gone, leaving his daughter in the dust.

Unlike last week, the girl had taken to wearing a periwinkle Sunday dress. It fitted her form well, her small frame and lithe body, she looked too pure to be in this town. Ymir walked over to her, bowing. As she lowered her eye level, she noticed of what appeared to be burn marks at her wrist, they were going up her forearm; only a trained eye would have caught the darker sides under the concealers.

"Morning, Miss," Ymir said graciously, though slowly.

"Good morning," Miss Reiss greeted her pleasantly. "Fancy meeting you here."

"I'm a child of God, best to stay with my flock," she easily told her as she escorted her up the steps of the chapel. All the while, Sasha was shaking her head, just like earlier.

Service was long, or at least it felt like it. The sun had reached its peak by high noon, for light poured in through the rafters, bathing Ymir and beckoning to wake up to the sound of,"...God's people say..."

"Amen," came Sasha and the other girl.

"Amen," Ymir echoed under her breath.

Braus had stepped away from the charred alter, most likely to drink his day away in his truck. Sasha stood up and seated herself by Ymir as Miss Reiss took to walking up to the alter for whatever thought that was crossing her mind.

"Not much of a woo'er if ya keep on sleepin' through service," Sasha said to her. "Ya shook them rafters with yer snoring."

"I can learn," Ymir said with a shrug as she tore a page off the Bible to wipe away a trail of saliva from her mouth. "Say, them Mormons coming in to replace your books?"

"Wrong people, idiot."

"Tch...this all she does?" She gestured her chin towards Miss Reiss as she meddled through the debris.

"Yup, every week. Nothin' special much."

Ymir clicked her tongue, her voice lowering. "She got some marks on her arms."

"Marks?" Sasha asked, brow raised, her tone though...

"Almost like burns...she suicidal or something?"

"Far from that- Miss Reiss, I'll be outside for a moment."

Miss Reiss nodded with a smile.

Sasha grabbed Ymir by her shoulder and hauled her up to her feet. She ushered her out the door, then pushed her against the wall. "I'm tellin' ya, stay away from her."

Ymir merely craned her neck. "Getting physical, are you?"

"We're gettin' this cash from her father-"

"It's more than being a supporter of Christianity, is it?"

"-an' the last thing we need is for ya to come waltzin' in and fuckin' her up, got it?"

Ymir shrugged. "Alright, alright, relax, I ain't gonna touch a single hair on her if that's what you wish."

Sasha sighed out of relief and released her reluctantly. "Now...get outta here."

"And if I start touching her, what're you to do?"

"For starters, I'll pro'lly just shoot you."

"That ain't Christian of you."

"Get goin'."

-...-

Sunday services...when was the last time she came over for that?

She shrugged it off by evening when the moon had taken the place of the sun.

She had decided to wander aimlessly through the town, she wanted something to occupy her mind the next day. It was on the highway that she caught sight of a lone figure walking along the highway. She squinted for a moment, unsure of who or what it was...whatever it was, it was definitely a person. She slowed down to have a better look as the figure had a thumb up.

A hitch-hiker.

Ymir halted several feet away from this person, eventually it stepped into the light.

"Evening," Ymir asked more than greeted.

"I...I need a ride to the nearest bar," the hitch-hiker requested, a girl.

"There's one three miles from where I came from, not much of a hassle to take you there," Ymir said, she gestured for her to come along. Once she was close enough, she got a better look of the person. Blue eyes, fair skin, fair face, Miss Reiss.

"Hold on," Ymir said, holding her wrist. "Miss, what're you doing all out here?"

"Ymir, it that you?" She asked of her.

Ymir slowly nodded; it was too quiet now. Even with the engine roaring under her, it felt too quiet, too eerie. She stared at her for a moment, long and hard, as though she were the most peculiar thing on the landscape.

"Ymir, you look pale," she said as she leaned close.

"Well, not every day you find a flower growing off the side of the side of the-ah!"

The girl's jaw opened up as though it were some fucking thing from a horror movie. Ymir was knocked off of her seat, but simultaneously, her bike had fallen atop her foot. Ymir yelped out and tried to break herself away from it, only to have the girl begin to crawl over the engine, awaiting her. Ymir tried to claw her away back as the jaw of that girl loosened itself, opening wider.

"F-fuck!" Ymir cried as she tried to use her hands to keep the girl away.

What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuc-

-...-

"Get off of her!" Jean snapped.

Ymir found herself passed out on her couch.

When she shifted, a clatter of bottles from from her feet. Another night of binge drinking. She looked around, head spinning- she saw that Hanji was sitting on one of her legs, that would explain the weight. For another, the woman was too close, too uncomfortably close; that too would explain why she felt like she was being crawled upon.

"Gah!" She kicked Hanji off and sent her flying onto the coffee table, then the ground. "Weren't you supposed to be in mourning- ah! My fucking head!"

Ymir sat up, she rubbed her neck, groaning.

"The fuck happened here!?"

"Well, you came home last night with some girl, got utterly hammered with her, and then she up and left before light!" Jean exclaimed. "By the way, your pants are out on the yard."

Ymir looked down to find herself in only her panties, she stared at them, then at Hanji, then back at her panties. She tried to calm herself down. "...what'd the girl look like?"

"Blond hair, short, pretty eyes, almost angelic," Hanji listed off with her fingers. "You guys wouldn't let us join so there's not much to go off of."

"Did she give a name?" Ymir dryly asked.

"Something Lenz...Kristal? Krista!" Jean recalled.

"Sounded almost like Crystal Meth," Hanji said with a laugh as she got up, brushing her robes off from the dust. "Usually it takes a lot for you to get drunk, I'm surprised you got knocked out. And by beer too?" She picked one of them up, muttering to herself as she went off to her room to do Lord knows what.

The confusion she faced left Ymir feel out of place. She had her times of waking up in random places, the barn, the bar, a water tank, lots of places, but just being at home, it was the oddest thing ever. She shook her head and collapsed against the worn pillow.

Jean had taken to sit on the coffee table by her.

"What're you looking at?" Ymir asked gruffly, closing her eyes.

Jean always had a thing for staring at things he wasn't supposed to.

"Nothing...just hadn't heard you laugh like you did last night since ever," Jean said as though it were the biggest news since the earthquake from a decade ago. "Krista really got you going, eh?"

"Krista, Krista, never fucking...what did she, how," Ymir stammered through. "Uh...what day is it?"

"Tuesday morning."

"Alright...what was I doing last night?"

Jean paused for a moment, then told her,"Said you were going out for a ride, I dunno what you do when you fuck off."

Ymir nodded. Everything from last night...it was like it was a blur, nothing could be recalled. That dream though, it may as well just be a nightmare concocted from shattered memories from the night before. She had no idea what went on, and normally she never bothered to check, but now she just had to know.

The world spun and she felt sick to her stomach. Unceremoniously, she rolled to the side and puked over the carpet, much to Jean's displeasure.

"Ugh! If you said you were sick, you should have asked for a bucket!" Jean complained.

The only reply came in the form of a middle finger.


	4. Chapter 4

Jean had told her the spout to Titan's water bucket was no longer working.

Something about the pressure not being strong enough to bring in the water to the bucket. She spent the morning in the barn, hitting the pipes until some result came out of it. Apparently it was clogged right near the bend to where water poured out, her efforts of labor got the damn thing to work, her horse went on to drink what sounded like a gallon's worth of it.

"Good boy," she softly said, patting by his withers.

She wiped the sweat off of her brow and picked up the tool box, placing it in storage in the tack room.

Three days passed since she woke up hungover, she didn't bother about the dream, she didn't bother about finding this "Krista Lenz", thinking her to be one of the crazy redneck locals. It was like her mind had inked out what happened, who her face was, and she figured it was better to not know anything.

Things swung back to normal.

Jean was back to his production of drugs and Hanji had holed herself up in her room; they had left Ilse's room untouched though Ymir had to deal with clearing it out herself...probably never.

She yawned lazily and scratched away an itch on her belly.

The desert was cooler at this time of day when the sun was just barely peeking over the Rose Mountains. A mist had produced and blanketed the vast lands, making it near impossible to see anything for another mile or so. The only view she had was the line of trees from the developing forest, her eyes focused along the edges.

A white form appeared, upon its back was a rider clad in an outfit fit for the heat. Ymir squinted for a moment, watching, they seemed to be wandering here and there, almost lost at where to go. And they most likely were.

They were stumbling onto her property, she didn't take too kindly to strangers but after deeming this one not much of a threat, she decided to investigate. She went back into the tack room and gathered the blankets and an old western saddle. She opened Titan's stall and heaved the equipment onto him, making sure his cinch and breast collar were properly fitted and tight.

When was the last time she rode him? A long while, doing this reminded her of childhood.

She went back to the tack room and took a bridle, one where she placed on his head and did the latches.

Once saddled, she led him out of the barn and checked for the white horse; they had meandered closer and deeper into the property.

Ymir nimbly swung herself upon Titan's back and kicked at his sides, spurring him into a quick trot; he was supple and compliant, he did whatever told, she appreciated him.

As she led him beyond the barn, she eased him up in to a lope, her hips rolling in the saddle in time with his pace. He went on, never breaking his beat, as they neared the rider. Much to her utter surprise, it was the exclusive Miss Reiss.

Unlike Ymir's rough attire, the girl before her was dressed rather cleanly, her jeans and shirt were new, so was her own tack, even her horse was more lively than Titan. Ymir brought her horse to a stop before her and leaned against the saddle horn, her arm propping her up. She examined Miss Reiss, she looked tired and somewhat weary, like she had been wandering forever.

"You lost, Miss?" Ymir asked.

Miss Reiss looked at her, eyes pleasant as always but there was a bit of exhaustion. "Oh, Ymir...I didn't know you live here. But, um, yes, I'm sort of lost."

Ymir straightened herself up. "I could lead you back to where you live...where do you live?"

"Hermiha," she answered quietly.

Ymir knew exactly where that was, it was about almost an hour's ride away from where she was, though by bike it would take ten minutes. Ymir tugged on the reins and brought Titan's head to the right, she gestured with her head in a 'Come along' fashion to which Miss Reiss promptly followed.

They walked into the thicket on the comforts of their horses, going at a slow and easy pace, taking in the green scent of pinewood. "Mind telling me what you're doing all the way out here?"

"I just wanted to get out of the house," Miss Reiss told her as they rode side by side. Even though her horse was about the same height as Titan, she was still shorter than Ymir. "My father likes to keep me on a tight chain but the only time he lets me out is when I go on trail, it helps me clear my mind, you know."

"Riding is good for the soul," Ymir mused. In her younger days, she and Titan used to travel far distances, in the mountains, in the plains, in the desert, everywhere; she knew the land like the back of her hand. She knew all the shortcuts and where to go, it was her land. "Sasha said you got here six months ago. Any reason?"

Miss Reiss didn't say anything.

Alone, unlike at church, the girl looked just...miserable, just utterly miserable. She kept to herself and had her eyes ahead on the path before her. Under any circumstance, Ymir would have called her rude- maybe she didn't know how to converse, didn't know how to lie. Silence was more alarming than deception.

"Too hard to say?" Ymir asked.

"It's just...I have a problem, just a slight problem."

"Wouldn't be a slight one if you end up here."

"I...I'm recovering from an addiction- oh, this is the first time I'm saying this," she said, she fumbled through her words. "I hope you don't think of me differently. It's not...it's really-"

Ymir shook her head. "Everyone's addicted to something in life. What was your poison?"

"Heroin," she admitted, she seemed to relax somewhat.

That would explain why she didn't look pretty today- she wasn't wearing her make-up, she was far from angelic, she looked more dead than alive.

Ymir let out a low whistle,"Damn. And your father lets your wander around like this? This town is more stocked than its own pharmacy, he'd know the area better than to move you out here."

"He didn't want me to be hospitalized, it'll ruin his image. He's trying to run for Senator."

"Senator, eh?"

The must have her reasons for forming an addiction, Ymir decided to not touch them, after all, they just met.

Miss Reiss nodded, her hands clutched her reins tighter as though the thought of her father's goal was the very bane to her existence. "All about power and all, he took me here to make sure I don't ruin his streak. The...thing I have, it got out of hand, I went through extensive therapy and all, and I've been clean so far, at least as far as I know. It's improvement, sure, but to me I don't really see a benefit."

"It'll help you in the long run, trust me," Ymir assured her.

"I...never spoke about this to anyone, not even Sasha."

"Do you talk to anyone but her?"

Miss Reiss shook her head. "I see her once a week. She doesn't know about me, at least, I don't think she does."

Oh, she might, which may explain why Sasha was insistent on not letting Ymir near the young lady as well. "There may be an inkling, but whatever she knows, she's only doing what she thinks is best for you. They're good people, the Braus family."

"Yes...but she always treats me like I'm some higher being, like she's taking care of me more than being friends."

Ymir nodded in understanding. "You got no one out here?"

"No. Mother died when I was a little girl, it's just me and my father right now."

"Hm.. Just me and two people at my place, there was Ilse but...you know where she is."

"Were you close? I'm sorry for prodding."

Ymir looked up at the canopies, trying to recall her younger days. "We were when we were kids, almost like sisters. She lost her parents in a car accident so my family took her in. After their deaths, she just shut herself in her room until now, so we started drifting apart in the end."

"Ah."

"She wasn't a bad person, she was just...weird, always writing on paper or something. Meanwhile, I grew up fixing engines and bikes, riding horses, just doing outdoors stuff, not really geared for staying in all the time. Drives me nuts."

They went on, idly speaking to one another. The more they spoke, the more Ymir realized...she was enjoying her company more more than Sasha's. She was talking to another living being, liking another's existence, sober. She didn't even have an urge to smoke too, that was a first. She learned that the girl game from Mitras, she attended a private Christian school, and that she used to compete in hunting competitions, as in horses going through a course in an arena.

Ymir kept most of the bad laundry out of the way, inputting tamer parts of her life, random memories that were pleasant, she didn't feel like letting out the reasons why she was in Trost.

"...if you ever need to go somewhere, you can come to my place since you figured out where it is," Ymir offered, giving the girl some solace.

Jean specialized in meth, not heroin, and Hanji never distributed her own concoctions to the public, her home was generally clean of what the girl sought after for her cravings.

Miss Reiss smiled, it was a weak one but a genuine one. Ymir learned that the domestic side of her at church was a false face. Over the passing hour, she revealed bits and pieces of her true self- overall, she was just a lonely soul just looking for companionship.

Even with other people living in her home, Ymir figured herself to be alone as well.

"Thank you for the offering, I might just take it one day," she said graciously.

They had ridden through the forest, eventually ending up on pavement, a sign of Hermiha. Further down the road was the community itself, Miss Reiss assured Ymir that she knew how to return home from there. She continued to walk by her, making sure that there was a building nearby to give confirmation that the girl truly near home.

Ymir adjusted her seating in the saddle, her back slightly aching from sitting for too long. It had been a while since she went out on a journey like this, but she didn't mind it as long as Miss Reiss was returned safely.

"Miss Reiss-"

"Ymir, you can stop the formalities," she said, sighing,"as much as I appreciate you respecting me, I...we can be friends, so just talk to me like one."

Ymir's eyes went wide for a moment, just slightly in surprise. "Really?"

"And the way you treat me at church, it's quite superficial."

Ymir chuckled. "You saw right through me then. Well, Miss Reiss, what do you want to call me?"

"When we're not in the presence of my father, it's Krista Lenz."

"W-what?" Ymir spluttered.

Wait...

Krista broke her tired horse into a sudden trot, fleeing instantly, all the while giggling. "You're much more fun when you're not a gentleman!"

Ymir tried to keep up with her, but Titan's energy was well spent, he refused to keep up with her as her horse started to canter.

She watched her disappear beyond a bend.

This girl...she was strange, a good kind of strange, though strange nonetheless.

Out of the option to follow her, Ymir turned towards home with the sun beating down upon her.

The morning fog had been batted away, it was just another day.


	5. Chapter 5

Rain.

It was something that needed for the dusty land, though the humidity was highly unwelcome- she preferred the fog from a few weeks ago.

The house felt even much more hotter within, causing the women to walk about in only bras and shorts, the man to only wear his jeans. All three of them sat around the table, poker was the subject as Ymir wore aviator shades, Jean having nothing, and Hanji wearing a green visor that was wide enough to cover her eyes.

The stakes was who was to the clean the house.

"...Ymir, you going to the rodeo next week?" Hanji asked.

"Are you stupid? I need an extra horse for that," Ymir snorted. "Besides, no use going to those anymore."

"Hate getting out?" Jean chuckled.

Ymir flipped him off before reaching for the beer and drinking it. She belched loudly and told him,"Hate being kicked out? Beat me at this, I'll even waive your rent."

He sat up straighter, now determined to win. He would become impulsive, hopefully he would fuck up and lose his cool to tell her what he has on hand. She kept her sights on him.

"Curious, Ymir, how'd you get this house?" Hanji inquired, she reached for one of the cigars on the table. Placing her cards face down, she took a small clipper and cut one end of the tobacco and reached for the matchbox. She lit a single stick and went to smoking it, puffing large circles that floated up and then dispersed downwards, leaving small waves on the table.

Ymir didn't move her eyes from Jean, Hanji handed her the cigar and she took a puff as well. Handing it to Jean, she spoke up,"My parents owned this place...they passed on and so when I was in town, I decided to take this place for myself. Already paid for, so, don't really matter to me. All I care is that you two give me payment."

Jean had it for a while, he passed it back to Hanji who gave an easy nod.

He drew a card and glanced at Ymir. "So you didn't go to their funeral?"

"Nope, grew apart from them...never really had a good relationship but that's whatever. I got out, they die, I came back, now this place is mine," Ymir said simply, shrugging.

"Sounds like a more stable life than mine," Jean told her.

"Oh? And where on earth did you come from?" Hanji said, smiling.

The two of them, Hanji and Jean, lived with one another for a few months, though they never spoke about their past lives- he only knew Hanji from the news, laughed when she found their doorstep and asked for sanctuary.

"Came from this very town," Jean explained,"parents owned a breeding ranch...didn't really do well. Ended up selling the horses and using the barn as meth lab, y'know? We were making so much bank, I just dropped out of school. Stayed like that, lived there, then the Feds busted through and seized everything when the barn caught on fire. I booked it and bumped up and down the state with Ymir when I caught with her in Mitras, and when the fuzz went down, we came back here."

"When was all this?"

"Ymir? I'm not good with remembering."

"Hm, think five years ago," Ymir told Hanji,"we came back together here five years ago. What about you, Hanji? Internet says you were the next Dr. Mengele. Hell, your name sounds German, you ain't descended from the-"

"My family was from France, thank you," Hanji corrected her. "You know how I went down...but you don't know why I went down."

She smoked a few from the cigar, she gave it to Ymir as she gestured for her to go on.

"They moved to America before I was born, we were rich, had everything and anything. I just never focused on the-" She brought her nose up to the air and made her voice nasally. "-caviar, wine, and polo." Jean and Ymir snickered. "No, really, I came from the rich, I graduated at Stanford Medical when I was eighteen. Then hit it off with medicine. Had the good life too...no one died under me until ten years later.

"A man died under my watch. At first, I was a bit sad, grieved a little, then it hit me, the oddity of death. Apparently, the anesthesiologist overdosed him due to my handwriting being obscure!"

Hanji laughed a bit, snorting, their faces became bored with the story. Jean sighed,"Don't really sound interesting. The way you make it, it sounds like accidents."

"After that, I went back to work...but then I grew a tad bit bored. Yes, yes, the human body is vastly interesting, though incredibly weak. You see, I began to search through the city, looking everywhere, something to do something, right? Just something to experiment on. How far can people go? What is a human's limit? I found a homeless man, brought him home...well, let's just say his entrails made a rather nice necklace...I dumped his body in acid and threw it out."

Now it got interesting, Ymir and Jean no longer paid attention to their cards, their concentration on her as she smoked even more.

"Eventually, I met a strange little man a month later," Hanji laid out to them. "He was short, had that weird military cut for the hair- he found me readying to get another patient. Apparently...that homeless man I experimented on was an agent from the Feds. Spying on something in the nightclub. He told me that I committed an offense but offered me a position- torturer and clean up for his task force. Naturally, I rolled along with it, had my fun, then went to Guantanamo in Cuba.

"Goodness, the screaming was very much the best thing in my life, though information hit well, much better than any other drug. I was free to do what I wanted. To repay what my first, initial crime was, I did my time there torturing those so-called terrorists. By no means am I a veteran or something, I am simply a Doctor asked to do the opposite of my profession."

"...wait, you killed a Federal Agent, then went to Guantanamo," Ymir said in disbelief.

"Shush," Jean hissed at her.

"I did this for about...oh, seven years, then they decided I've done enough and shipped me back to Mitras just last year," Hanji said,"my old clinic was still up and running until a few months later after I came back. Once a killer, always one, it was a sick perversion I had carried with me, you know? I went on, a person every so often would die under my hand, all sorts of ways, until the man I met all those years ago returned, knew what I was doing, and arrested me.

"I had so much to do with my life...I told Levi I needed to use the bathroom, he let me. I hopped out of the fire escape from the restroom and fled the city from there. Somehow, I ended up here in Trost, Ymir found me at the gas station, I gave her the rest of my money and she let me come live here."

"The only thing that isn't bullshit was when you gave me money," Ymir snorted, she shook her head. "Besides...how do we know you won't kill us? Answer me honestly."

Hanji chomped on her cigar, chewing it slightly as she smiled, she laid down her cards and showed she had a Royal Flush. "Your bodies aren't healthy enough for any sort of testing. If I open up your lungs or liver, Ymir, I'm sure either one of those would be black, your heart too. And Jean, all that meth you've used, it's just not suitable. I could kill you both just by a single overdose of any drug I find in your bloodstream- point is, your deaths would be too boring."

She got up as Jean frantically stared at her hand, he groaned and glared at her as she left for her room, humming and puffing on the cigar once more.

"You're my good friends as well!"

It was all too foreboding as thunder clapped outside, making the home shatter and causing Hanji to cackle before slamming her door.

Ymir's mouth hung open, unable to bring up words to describe her.

"Either she's a good story teller or she's the next Ted Bundy or something," Jean told Ymir.

"...I ain't going to sleep," Ymir told him, collecting the cards.

The door opened from the front, a weak knock reached their ears over the sound- Ymir got up and found her front door widely open, young Krista Lenz in front, shaking from the rain and loudness. Ymir gestured her to come in as she looked outside, peering in both directions to find she came here by hitching a ride. Krista took her coat off and went to sit down at the table, grabbing the beer and drinking it.

"Hey, it's Krista," Jean said, smiling at her, he frowned when she glanced at him. "Jesus Christ, the fuck happened to you?"

"Why? What happened?" Ymir asked after closing the door. She opened her eyes wide and rushed to the fridge to grab a slightly frozen steak. She went to Krista and slapped the steak over her eye, a black eye. "Who did this?"

"Father," she said,"got into a fight."

"Why'd it happen?" Jean said, he went to get more beer for her.

"Bastard got drunk is all, I was in his way, he hit me, I got out," Krista stiffly said.

"Get Hanji," Ymir instructed him, he hesitated for a moment before she gestured for him to leave.

Within moments, Hanji came out of her room, med-kit out. "Oh, steak, really, Ymir? That's so redneck of you."

Ymir removed the steak and tossed it to Jean to cook up for the girl. Hanji pulled a chair out in front of her and went to treating her bruise, there were a few scrapes and glass as well, he must have thrown his whiskey glass at her. Hanji whistled lowly and murmured,"Damn, whoever did this is gonna leave a scar. It's alright, Miss, I got this, don't move."

"Shit," Ymir uttered as she lit a cigarette to smoke. Krista stayed still and quiet. "Servants didn't do anything?"

"They went home for the evening to avoid the worse of the storm," Krista told her.

"Poor baby," Hanji said, picking the glass out from her skin with a tweezers. "Stitches, you'll need that. Ymir, you shouldn't have put that steak on her, she could have gotten an infection."

"You know, seeing you like this, I find it hard to believe you were in Cuba," Ymir said, sitting across the table. "You're too kind...but there's other things about you that make you sound like you're from a snuff film."

Hanji laughed under her breath. "I was in snuff films, actually."

"See, the shit you say, it contradicts the person I see right now, actually giving a fuck for human life."

Hanji stopped her work for a moment, she looked at her, glaring. "The fact that you shouted for me, brought this person in, and actually tried to help her, she's someone you know, maybe even care for. As I said, you're my friend, you keep me safe, I do what I can to help you. Now will you shut the fuck up and stop judging me before I put a laxative in something you'll eat?"

Ymir held both her hands up in defense. "I'll fuck off."

"Thank you," Hanji told her, she was sincere as she smiled at her.

And so she went back to plucking glass out of Krista's face.


	6. Chapter 6

The night dragged on, all four of them now sitting at the table.

Jean had fried the steak, threw on random spices he found in the drawer, and handed it off to each of them, including himself. They ate it quickly, finishing it, and having Ymir bring the plates to the sink where she just left them for later. As Hanji suggested, they had to put Krista to a bed to have her rest, she seemed pretty exhausted from her walk.

"That must have taken you two hours to get here," Ymir told her as they laid on the bed in her room. It was large enough for them to lay upon, flat, without touching one another though Hanji and Jean were near each other.

Krista shook her head, her face now covered in bandages to cover her stitches, her black eye still swollen though not as horrid as earlier. "I rode my horse here, it took me and hour actually. I was racing her all the way here."

"Must really trust her if you rode her through a thunderstorm," Jean complimented her.

"Yeah..."

Hanji was leaning on her elbow, her hand tacking away at her laptop's keys, eyes going up and down the screen. "Your father, though...would it be alright to ask questions about-"

"Not now," Ymir sharply told her.

"Alright, alright," Hanji murmured, she rolled off to the side and stood, heading for the desk where a hookah was sitting, two tubes to share it with. "Mind if I light it up? Krista seems she needs a moment to relax."

"Krista?" Ymir asked of the blond.

She gave an earnest nod, Hanji brought the long pipe to the floor to rest it as Jean clapped and rubbed his hands together, willing to partake in it. He slid off the bed and sat down, readying the shisha. Within minutes, Hanji returned with two coals in tongs, she put them in the top that was covered by a new foil. She sat down next to Jean and waited.

"Ever had this stuff?" Ymir wanted to make sure Krista could take it, then again, she was a heroin addict, this stuff was nothing.

"Yeah," Krista told her, hugging the pillow close to her. She was glancing around the room.

There was a rack of shotguns and rifles, opened boxes of ammunition were scattered underneath the rack with a few individual bullets here and there. Far to the wall was a desktop with a computer, then a pile of clothes were shoved by the corner of a wall and a wardrobe. Ymir didn't really care about her living area, the same could be said to her other housemates.

Hanji did some test-tasting of the smoke with the hookah pen, she gave an approving nod and took the time to take in the smoke. She handed the pen to Jean to have as she reached for the other and offered it to Krista. The blond took it and puffed a few, smacking her lips a bit before taking more.

"I needed this," Krista said to them,"...thanks."

"No problem," Ymir assured her.

"...so, what do you people do?"

"Do as in...?"

"Hobbies, jobs, anything?" Krista tried to put out there.

Hanji gave a small laugh as she easily told her,"I give tutoring lessons online as a British person, makes me sound smarter."

"And I do chemistry," Jean added.

"Then I have them pay me to live here," Ymir chuckled.

Krista looked at them, one after another, she came to a quick conclusion,"So Jean produces drugs."

"Sort of, yeah," Ymir said, they all nodded in agreement,"but he only operates in this small town."

"...what do you make?" She prodded some more.

"Methamphetamine," Jean said. "We're not like those people you see on television, we aren't making big but it's enough to get by, see? There's some, ah...stipulation to our jobs for us to go out into the world. Only as much as we need to get by."

"Then there's the welfare check I get," Ymir huffed,"fucking government...sending jack-shit too."

Krista remained quiet as she breathed in the smoke, calming herself even more.

"What do you do, young lady?" Hanji inquired.

Krista exhaled and sighed,"I stay at home. Learn too...shut in life, you know."

"Poor thing," Hanji said, sympathizing with her,"I hate the shut in life."

"Why can't you go out?" Krista wondered out loud.

"Not that simple- hey, are you still in pain?" Hanji asked of her, switching to another subject- Ymir never seen her defensive, then again, she never seen her interact with other people outside the home. Krista gave a short nod. "Be right back."

She left, some banging from the room down the hall alerted Krista as she flinched a bit. The eccentric returned with a closed palm and a bottle, she gave a few pills of Advil and the water- Krista took them both immediately, sighing. Hanji also gave her some other medication.

"Don't worry, just something for you to sleep," she explained. Krista hesitated for a moment, staring at her open palm before taking them. "Knocks you out in ten minutes."

"Thank you so much, Hanji...you know, you're name sounds familiar," Krista told her.

Hanji sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her- Ymir stared at the two, she only held someone like that once, Ilse. "Oh? How so?"

"Hanji...like Hanji Zoe, you know? I heard it a while back, he did something bad," Krista tried to recall.

"He?" Hanji laughed lightly. "Nah. My last name isn't Zoe, mind you."

"Oh..."

Hanji patted her shoulder and let go of her, laying on the bed. "Yup, Hanji Zoe was a man."

Ymir rolled her eyes, trying to hold down a laugh, succeeding. "Sometimes, I wonder if you're a man."

The former doctor sat up and grabbed her breasts. "I'm a goddamn woman, I was wearing a bra earlier, for your information."

"Bra? I didn't really see much, you're as flat as a board," Ymir finally burst into laughter, Jean joined in. "So flat, I can't even think of what to compare you to-hmph!" Hanji flung herself over at her, pressing her breasts against her face and squeezing them against each side. "Hnnnnm!"

"ARE THESE FLAT TO YOU!?" Hanji shouted, now she was the one laughing as Jean was nearly pissing himself on the floor, rolling about in revelry. "HUH!?"

Ymir grabbed her waist and managed to lift her away. "Fuck! Don't put your sagging tits on me!"

Hanji snickered as she sat back down,"Shut up, I am not that old."

"Better not show me your pussy next, else Jean will utterly lose it," Ymir growled,"don't do that to me again, you hear?"

Krista couldn't seem to bring herself to laugh when Ymir glanced at her, she found that she had fallen asleep, not even Jean's obnoxious laughter could wake her. Hanji stopped bouncing here and there, she decided to get up and give Jean a light kick to the stomach. "Hey, show's over- girl's fallen asleep. We gotta go."

Jean nodded, wiping tears off his face as he picked up the hookah carefully and departing with Hanji, Ymir following them all and closing the door quietly. When they situated themselves at the living room, Jean and Hanji were back to using the hookah. "When are you two going to make a sex tape?"

"Excuse me?" Ymir asked, frowning.

Jean didn't elaborate as he smirked, leaning back and relaxing, letting out rings of smoke from his lips.

"...how's Marco?"

"Doing alright. He's having a swell time being an attorney."

Hanji perked up. "Wait, what's his last name?"

"Bott," Jean answered simply,"why?"

"Get out, seriously? Marco was my lawyer when I was being sued by that Asian family a few years ago," Hanji said,"guy looks spineless but I have to admit, he knows what he's doing, I escaped that trial easily! Never knew he came from here, amazing how people change! Say, why aren't you hanging around with him?"

"We found it best to avoid each other after I got raided. I didn't want to ruin his future, though, he does owe me, I did get him through college partway," Jean mused,"besides, he has better things to do than convene with a drug dealer." He chuckled lightly. "Strange how our lives turned out. Could have been better off than now but hey, what can you do when your parents couldn't hold down a job?"

Ymir shook her head, telling him,"You're a good person right now, at least they had the mind to raise you right."

"Thanks, Ymir, I think it's the first time I've heard you being sincere," Jean praised her, she threw a pillow at him.

"Fuck off, man, you're better than Marco, you're just in a shitty spot in life. We all are," Ymir said,"you, me, Hanji, even Krista back there."

"What's her story?" Hanji inquired.

Ymir took the pen from Hanji and took a few hits. "Ah, she's a recovering heroin addict."

"Never seen her around here," Jean pointed out,"where she from?"

"Hermiha, kid to one of those rich bastards," Ymir relayed to them,"actually, it's Lod Reiss."

Hanji coughed harshly, her eyes nearly exploding from their sockets as she hacked away in her throat even more. Jean slapped her back before she came to and exclaimed,"The guy running for Senator!? Shit, he's already ahead in the game!"

"Damn, and here we have his dirty laundry sitting in your room, Ymir," Jean said as he rubbed Hanji's back, she waved him away, thanking him with nods,"you good? Alright, you good."

"Why're you freaking out over a Senator anyway?" Ymir asked, slightly frowning as she reached over for a beer to drink.

"Ymir! You don't get it...Krista, nah- no, it's Historia Reiss! I couldn't recognize her because, well, she looks like hell at the moment!" Hanji was getting excited, but for once, Ymir was highly interested. "You don't know? Oh, of course you don't, not even you Jean! Historia Reiss, she was that pop-singer who dropped out of the media after her concert failed! She was so high, she fell off the stage and broke some guy's arm? She got sued, Marco defended but she still got sued? You guys have no idea!"

Ymir stared at her as though she were crazy, her face contorting in confusion as Jean questioned the former doctor,"Are you high?"

"No, no, hold on." She went back to the room and grabbed her laptop to go on Youtube. Under the search 'Historia Reiss stage fall epic fail', she clicked on the first video. The audio was distorted by screaming fans as Historia was up on stage, singing as she wore a skimpy outfit. However, she was swaying a bit, then the next thing anyone knew, she twirled and fell off stage, landing into the crowd.

The video ended with a news reporter saying,"...the disoriented singer later told the crowd 'I have no idea what I am doing, Jesus, what is going on?' as the audience member was rushed to to the hospital."

"...her singing, it's horrible," Ymir said, grimacing.

"I think some of her songs are catchy," Hanji said meekly,"I used to listen to them whenever I went to work...sometimes, I used them to torture terrorists."

"...you tortured people, killed people, to that girl-" Ymir pointed at her room. "-over there. You...are one weird fuck."

"Never heard of her," Jean piped in,"let's hear a few songs though."

"Sure thing!" Hanji said cheerily as she looked about for a good song to present to him.

Ymir had decided to get herself completely plastered, she couldn't stand the sound of the auto-tuning. Eventually, when the line of sight distorted for Ymir, so was her hearing as she heard Hanji sing along to Historia- it all became muffled to her as she was left wondering why the fuck Hanji, a woman clearly older than any of them, was a fan of this girl.

Her songs weren't even good.

There was so much distortion in her voice.

It was so lame, no, wait.

Historia Reiss had a really shitty voice.


	7. Chapter 7

Ymir woke up with her head pounding, mind spinning, and her stomach spinning, ready to throw up everything- her surroundings didn't matter but the smell was unfamiliar. She stumbled out of the couch, slammed her head against the wall in her blind stupor, and ended up on the floor.

Out of instinct, she crawled over to a door to nudge it open to the only functioning bathroom in the entire house. Blind, she clawed at the bowl, praying to the hangover gods to ease her out of her illness. She hurled, belly clenching over and over, repeatedly, as she cried out- oh fuck.

"...can you hurry this up? I gotta piss real bad," Hanji's chipper voice blared to her after a while.

Ymir nodded and fell back, slamming her body against the wall and uncaring for the puke dribbling down her mouth.

"Damn, this is disgusting," Hanji huffed, she tossed a towel over Ymir's eyes,"cover those...and keep that there."

As she heard the woman urinate, Ymir leaned over and puked into the trash can. When she heard the thunder of a toilet flushing, Hanji got to her and picked her up by the shoulders.

"Up you go, c'mon," she coaxed her as she assisted her in walking- her other hand was on the trash can, holding it over Ymir's shoulder for her to puke. Jesus fuch, Ymir knew she was fucked up, the world spun as she threw Ymir to the bed in her own room, leaving the trashcan next to her on the floor. "There you go, right there, right and comfy."

"G...get me something for a hangover, damn it," Ymir uttered.

"No cure for-"

"GET ME SOMETHING FOR MY MIGRAINE!" Ymir barked, she threw some empty shells at Hanji as the former doctor merely laughed.

"Now that I can alleviate," Hanji chimed.

Ymir grunted and rolled over, finding that she had landed in bed next to Krista, who was sleeping through the whole thing. Whatever Hanji gave her must have been strong- too strong. She lazily tapped her face, opened her eye, and blew on her face- nothing, she was completely gone. Ymir shrugged to herself and rolled to face the other way.

Hanji appeared out of the corner of her eye, hand swooping down with some pills.

Ymir snatched them and popped them inside her mouth, glaring at her.

"Oh, don't give me that face," Hanji said, she sat down and patted her shoulder, earning a swat to the arm.

"...you've been acting differently since Ilse died," Ymir noted,"you're getting out of your room some more, and out of hers."

Hanji scoffed and smiled at her. "People die, what can I do about it? Besides, she was a patient, not a friend. I tried to treat her, her psyche is the most interesting I've ever seen. Strange people fascinate me..."

"Is Jean strange to you?"

"Nah, he's just got a short temper."

"...what about Sasha?"

"That little hick? She's just an average hillbilly, don't look at her for a study."

"...me?"

Hanji snorted, stifling a laugh. "You're the least most interesting person I've ever met. All you do is ride a horse, drink, smoke-" She was listing her off with her fingers. "-yell at us to pay rent, get into bar fights, hit up any young lady that strolls into town, shoot anyone who is Reiner, Bert, and/or Annie, aaaaaand...you like to suck on your thumb when you sleep- hold on." She beamed as she clapped once, loud, Ymir winced. "I'd like to get into why you suck your thumb."

"What the-"

"Did your mother fail to raise you with her teat?"

Ymir rolled her eyes. "Please do not bring my mother's tits into a conversation with me...ever."

"Oh, so you love your mother-"

"No, I'm just disgusted, now get the fuck out," Ymir demanded, the hangover making her drowsy, demanding sleep.

Hanji got up, said no more, and strolled out, keeping the door open.

An engine roared outside, it wasn't a motorcycle, it had to be someone other than the usual trespassers- Hanji relaxed. The price of living here was not only her use of providing medication but also living on the edge of a shootout happening. She nodded it off, passing the gun rack by the front door and stopping to see who would appear.

The door opened and Hanji was greeted by Sasha, who was accompanied by Connie. Hanji raised a brow as she approached them. "Oh, what a pleasant surprise. To what do I owe the natives of Trost this fine, glorious morning?"

"Nothin' much, Doc," Sasha said casually, she walked right in, Connie coming inside with her and going to the fridge to get a bottle of beer. "Jus' got bored at church and that bar ain't gonna open until noon."

Connie was a short man, bald yet bright with mischievous eyes- he was a local prankster in Trost. If something stupid happened in town, it was from him, and possibly Sasha. The duo had firearms, and as a rule as guests in Ymir's house, they left their guns on the counter. Sasha hummed as she was given a beer.

"If you're looking for Ymir, she's in her room...hungover," Hanji relayed to them. She decided to retreat to her room in case an eruption came up.

Sasha nodded and headed over to Ymir's room, Connie splitting up with her to go to Jean's room and see what he was cooking up. She slurped on some beer as she turned on the light. When her bottle lowered, she saw Ymir groaning, uttering some obscenity, though Sasha's eyes popped open. Spitting out a foamy fountain over Ymir and causing her to rise up from her morning death.

"ARE YOU A GODDAMN FUCKING RETARD!?" Ymir roared, furious as beer suds flowed over her shoulder and waist. "THE FUCK, MAN!?"

"WHY THE FUCK IS SHE HERE!?" Sasha screeched, dropping the beer.

"Fuck you, Sasha!" Ymir uttered.

"Fuck me? Fuck you!"

Sasha rushed to Krista and stirred her awake. "Hnmmm..."

"Wake up, Miss Reiss, we gotta get ya home! Yer father's ought to be worried!" Krista snorted and winced, she sat up immediately, still droopy from the medication. Sasha's mouth was agape as she pointed at Ymir, furious and frantic. "Did ya do that!? For the love of God! Why'd ya punch her!?"

Ymir had enough of her prattling, she got up and grabbed Sasha's shoulders. "If you can just sit the fuck down, shut up, and let me explain, then I would let you consider taking her back to her father, alright?" Sasha anxiously nodded as she was brought to the bed. "Look, she came over last night on horseback. Her father got drunk and punched her, threw some class, she was all fucked up. She came here for sanctuary, Hanji patched her up, and then she crashed here."

Sasha stared at the two, calculating the story. "...why are ya the one hungover?"

"Because I can be, so believe me. Ask Hanji or Jean, either of them, they were here the whole time," Ymir assured her,"now...are you gonna take her away? Since she came here like this, I don't think bringing her back is the best thing in the world. Since she's got a reason to leave her father, she can escape and stay here."

"Why can't she be with me?" Sasha inquired.

"Her father is gonna check your place first, dumbass, he doesn't know me so he ain't gonna peek here," she pointed out. "Besides, you got nothing to worry about her being here. I know about her addiction, she ain't gonna have any of the heroin here. Trust me on this. Now, can I trust you to not utter a peep, I don't want the goddamn FBI running through this place. I'm breaking the law so hard here."

"Who isn't in this town?"

Ymir pointed outside the door. "I got two fugitives, one of which is the most wanted internationally, and now I got some potential Senator's daughter, you think I'm small here?"

Sasha gave a slow agreeable nod, hesitating with it.

"No matter who her father is, I'm not letting her go back there if this is how he treats her," Ymir firmly said, she laid down,"people aren't fucking things to release your bullshit on."

"I suppose yer right there," Sasha began to admit. "...fine, but if he goes lookin ''round-"

"-you will say jack shit about where she is-"

"-I will say nothin'."

"Exactly, now get out," Ymir ordered, Sasha complied though she paused at the door, giving Krista a concerned glance before closing it. "...that's one needle out of your side, huh?"

Krista's voice wavered a bit, Ymir turned to find that she had been crying the whole time. She spoke quietly,"...it's the first time I heard someone give a damn about me, an actual one."

Reluctantly, Ymir sat up, feeling the blood rush through her head as she placed a hand to her shoulder, comforting her, then bringing her close to hug her. "Just cry it out, Krista. Cry it out, I told you, you can come here any time, understand?" In truth, as Ymir portrayed herself to people as tough, a badass without rules, she had some form of morality. "You're at the right place."

-...-

Sasha paced around the room, wringing her hands together as Hanji finally emerged from her quarters, she sat down at the coffee table, arms crossed.

"Walls are thin here, I take it Sasha is some sort of babysitter for Krista," Hanji concluded, Connie nodded when he entered the living room as well, done with Jean.

"Sasha and her father, they have to rebuild Krista into a Christian, see? Reshape her, girl's apparently gone out of control of her life enough that she needs to some spiritual sense knocked into her, born-again Christian transformation. Reiss thought it best to go to this dump and have her change for the better before putting her out on the road again.

"Unfortunately, this isn't the 80s, media will make a big deal out of any drug you do," Connie told her, he took some sips of his beer as he sat on the couch.

"How can Reiss's plan work out at all? None of them folks here came t'service in years! Not after...the roof collapsed on Hannah n' Franz, Franz died n'then Hannah got a miscarriage- girl lives in the hills now," Sasha groaned, she slammed her back against the wall and slid down, holding her face. "Jesus Christ...how the hell are Pa and I s'posed to keep the ranch and church?"

Hanji caught sight of her laptop, her little idea machine in her head began to go into full motion. She chuckled a bit, then laughed, hard, as the two looked up at her. "I have just the idea!"

"Shoot," Sasha encouraged her.

"Krista Lenz, nah, Historia Reiss, popular pop-star turned heroin addict turned born-again Christian as, stay with me on this, Christian country singer!" Hanji exclaimed, hands out now, as if her words were physical and demanded a fabulous presentation. "Huh? Huh? Well? Krista is young, beautiful, and she's got a voice!"

Connie's mouth was agape as he uttered,"Holy shit..."

"Alright, but where she gonna perform?" Sasha challenged her. "We ain't got a stage no more...it got crushed with Franz."

"We start at the bar, of course...get her advertised there, make repairs to the church, then draw people back to it. Win-win, right, guys?"

Hanji was certainly on a roll here.

"Her father sees that she's kicked the drug and let the Almighty into her system, the Braus family gets their services back, and boom, Krista is once again popular but only to a select group of people and will no longer be a shame everywhere while her father can succeed in his election with his reputation repaired. Damn, I love scheming!"

"Holy shit!" Sasha echoed Connie. "Yer totally right!"

"We're going to need a band, however," Hanji mused,"or at least a partner. Sasha, who knows how to play something?"

"Uh, Ymir can play guitar," Sasha recalled.

Hanji clapped her palms together and then pointed at the woman. "Bingo, a duo! Beautiful. Next-"

"Ahem..."

The three looked away to see Jean standing at the corner as he removed his gloves, smirking.

"Can't help but overhear you guys...let me just say how fucking retarded this plan is...I'm in."


	8. Chapter 8

"You want us to what?" Ymir asked flatly, wanting a repeat of Hanji's proposal when she was approached the next noon.

"...become country stars, Christian ones," Hanji pressed on her, papers in hand, most likely lyrics,"I mean, just play and sing, not be actual Christians."

Ymir's eyes lit up as she was working on her bike in the garage, wrench in hand. She smiled her brightest and anxiously rubbed her palms over the metal handle- seeing her like this made Hanji beam herself. "Oh man, a Christian rock-star?! Darn, I would, but that's a terrible fucking idea!"

She threw the wrench at Hanji, though the doctor leaned to the side to avoid it, the wrench clattered loudly outside the garage as she advanced on her.

"Who put you up to this?" She shouted loudly over Hanji's shoulder. "Jean? Sasha? Get your asses out here!"

"Easy, easy, Ymir," Hanji tried to coax her,"it's just an idea, not an action!"

"The girl just came here to get away from that sort of life, all the idiot fans and whatnot, and here you are wanting to shove her back on the stage! How the fuck do you think she got on heroin?" Ymir tried to reason with her, it was a stupid idea, truly, it left her fuming. "I thought you doctors have a code or something to help patients get better, not worse!"

Hanji put up a finger. "First off, I was a surgeon, second, I think, in my professional standpoint and more experience in life, we should let Krista do something with her life. The very least, find some improvement."

"And improvement is not putting her back where she came from, look at her, she's as skinny as a goddamn twig," Ymir pointed out. She gestured to the wrench. "Pick that up and then get out of here."

The doctor sighed and strode over to the tool, picking it up while handing it to Ymir, along with the papers. "Some lyrics Sasha and I came up with, look it over, see what you think."

"Uh-huh, yeah, now fuck off, and don't talk to Krista," Ymir added as Hanji scampered away.

Ymir glanced down at the lyrics, the garbled mess of a doctor's hand was giving her a headache. She scoffed and tossed it to a desk, holding it down with a hammer to weigh it down. Shaking her head, she went back to the ground to work on her bike.

Time passed along as she was messing around with the engine, made her forget that she had criminals living in her house. Then again, she was one herself. She pushed such thoughts away and headed to her own peace of mind, just screwing around with machinery. It was amazing how fast time flew as it grew dark and Sasha and Connie had driven out of the property.

Footsteps, bare, caught her attention, but she guessed it to be Hanji. She spoke up as she was placing the cover back over the motor. "Not interested, Hanji."

"It's me," Krista told her.

Ymir glanced over her shoulder, got up, and turned, hands wiping away the grime with a stained towel. "What's up?"

"Just...wanted to check up on you," Krista confessed, though she didn't seem so sure about it. Ymir went to the table and grabbed a cigarette to smoke.

"Hanji was bothering you, huh?"

Krista nodded, she let out a shy laugh. "Wouldn't stop. She told you too, the whole...Christian singing thing."

"Yup," Ymir said, she offered the box to her,"want?"

"Yeah," she said, she took one and lit it with Ymir's lighter,"I think it's stupid."

"Same, told her too."

"She told you what I did before, right?"

"Pretty much, you have a shitty voice too," Ymir admitted,"how the hell did you even get popular?"

She laughed a bit louder, she was gaining confidence. "I was in a commercial when I was fourteen...did some song on there, some agent heard me, wanted to work with me some more. My father wanted me to pick up on the singing, next thing I knew, I was singing songs the way they wanted me to sing in front of crowds in concerts. Trust me...I sound better in person, singing my way, not theirs. All this...auto-tuning, voice manipulation. I swear, I don't sound like that."

Ymir walked int front of her, arms crossed, her cigarette hanging off between her index and middle. "Show me. And none of that pop shit, God knows I hate that stuff."

"Um...there's this one song my older sister taught me," Krista recalled,"it's a bit country."

The taller woman edged her on, scoffing,"Do it."

"I know of sin by the things mama prayed..."

She had an alto, not a soprano as her songs depicted her, Ymir was drawn in very slowly.

"...and I know of Heaven by the line at its gate...I know of truth and America's way, come drink the water if you wanna be saved..."

Ymir approvingly nodded. "Much more like it. At least you got a voice for country. You telling me...those people wanted you to not sing like that? It sounds so much better than the bullshit you've done."

"They...didn't really like that sort of voice with-" Krista waved her hand in a circle in front of herself. "-this little body."

Both reveled in the humor she was beginning to show, her colors really surfacing as she was growing accustomed and relaxed in her refuge. Ymir waved her over to the couch at the wall to the side, having her sit there as she went to get beer from the fridge. She opened them both up and sat them down on the small table in front of them.

Ymir brought one boot up to the table, resting it as she began to prod,"When did the drugs come in?"

"...I was in France, just two years ago. I dabbled in it until last year, everything went wrong after I found a supplier in America," Krista said, she grimaced,"couldn't stop myself. I mean, traveling and all that, going one place after another...it was fun when I was younger, but it was my father, he made me keep doing it, just for the sake of funding his campaigns. Now that I got him enough, he doesn't really need me- the heroin was enough for him to shove me here."

"You didn't like performing and all that shit then."

"It was fun...but the demand for pop is high and it just wasn't my favorite thing to do."

Ymir snorted as she looked at her in disbelief. "Can't believe I'm hearing this...it's like an extreme case of when, you know, when parents force their kids into playing football when in the reality, the kid wants to do theater? Sort of like that if you think about it...some kids drink, some do pot, some smoke, but you? Damn, go big or go home."

Krista could only sigh,"What can you do?"

"I'll tell you what you can do now." She pointed at the wall, though she was pointing at Hermiha. "Fuck that guy, understand? Fuck him. He isn't a threat to you, you're a threat to him. How can a man run if he's got a daughter who was a singer turned addict? He can't, because he's the one who tossed her life in the shitter. And you know what, this reputation is his issue, not yours."

"...you're the first person that's made any sort of sense in my life," Krista uttered. "Very first."

"I just say what makes sense," Ymir casually said, she sipped more of the beer. "I ain't seeing you as that pop artist or some lovely bullshit like that, I'm just seeing you as a girl, just an ordinary girl whose life was blown way out of fucking proportion. Money and drugs, not the best combination if you have both at the same time."

"Wish you were in my life before all that," she said, somber. She took small sips but she was already done with her cigarette.

"Yeah, but I wasn't. So there's that. Really, I think you could fix yourself up."

Krista wondered for a moment, she tried to put two and two together as she asked,"What about Jean and Hanji?"

"What about them?"

"...are they drug addicts? You seem to draw in people in tight spots...them, me, Sasha, those kind of people."

Ymir clicked her tongue as her jaw pulled back a bit. "Well, Sasha don't live here. She ain't my problem. The other two, well, unlike you they have no control whatsoever over any of the issues they have. Now I think about it, yeah, I tend to draw in the crowd. Yeah...c'mon...I'm fucking starving, let's get inside. Hopefully Jean got something."

They headed over to the door that led to the house, from there, Ymir caught Hanji and Jean sitting at the table with a brick of white within plastic in front of them. Three more were near Hanji.

Krista stared at them, eyes wide as Ymir's shoulders and smile drooped. "...what the fuck is this, guys?"

"Cocaine," Hanji said, the powder between her fingertips. "Found it in Ilse's room. I was cleaning it up today just to do something and...well, I found it."

"I was saying we sell it," Jean pipped up. "I mean, this is just four pounds, I see about 30k per block."

"At least I figured out Ilse's issue. The woman was a cocaine addict! Best part, there's more in her room!"

Ymir sat down at the table. "That explains that...where the fuck did she get it is the bigger question."

"I dunno," Hanji said, she brought out a medium Ziploc bag to the table, it was the small one that Ilse probably used for convenience. "But, also found this. These blocks are unopened, though this is very interesting."

"Oh fuck, Hanji," Ymir uttered.

Hanji opened the bag and poured out some of the contents onto the table. She used a small razor to part them, making perfectly straight lines, one for each of them except for Krista. Beaming brightly, she brought her nose down and snorted it, hard, making Jean lean over the table a little bit when she coughed and rubbed her nose.

"...well?"

Hanji was silent for a moment, then she sprung up from her chair, arms in the arm as she shrieked out,"YAHOOOOOOOOO!" to the ceiling.

"Jesus," Ymir laughed.

"Forgot to mention to you guys," Hanji said, giggling,"I did a lot of cocaine when I was down in Cuba!"

"...that would explain everything about you," Ymir uttered when Hanji stooped low to take the cocaine once more.

"Alright, alright, Hanji, don't snort it all, we gotta sell it," Jean told her as he got up and led Ymir over to Ilse's room, Krista following him. "Remember all those stacks of papers Ilse got?" She nodded as he opened the door. "All that writing was to just use the paper to hide all the stuff."

Ymir gawked.

Hanii must have came in and when she removed the first tower of paper, she had to litter the entire room. The room was flooded with the loose-leaf stuff but now, under what Ymir thought was a metropolis of dead trees turned out to be stacks of the white bricks, all wrapped in neat plastic. Ymir ran her hands through her hair as she went inside, eyes wide.

Ilse's room was the main room, the master's bedroom, complete with a walk in closet and a large bathroom- her mind dreaded to think what was behind the door of the closet, and so she opened it, only to find boxes upon boxes of the drug.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit," Ymir murmured, beginning to panic.

Hanji's sing-song voice came in as she sniffled a bit, tears coming from her eyes as she asked all of them,"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"How did she-? What is she-?"

She rushed to Jean, clawing at his arms.

"Now how the fuck are we supposed to move all this if we sell? How, Jean? How!? I'm not having Hanji snort all this! She won't get passed even a tenth of it all! Fuck!"

She threw Jean to the side, he slammed against the wall as Ymir's hands shook.

"For fuck's sake! I got Hanji here, you here, then Krista, now this!? Jesus Christ, it's like I'm just fucking asking the FBI to come here and fuck me! Oh, better spread my legs because I'm such a goddamn whore for doing more felonies that I'm not responsible for!"

Krista cleared her throat as Hanji had a line on the back of her hand- the woman was snorting it even in the midst of Ymir losing her shit, the nerve of her.

However, Ymir ignored her as she snapped at Jean,"You can't even get a single customer for your fucking meth, so what makes you think we can sell shit like this to anyone else!? Huh!?"

"Ymir!" Krista shouted to her, Ymir glared at her, breathing heavily. She grew quiet when she faced her. "...I know a few people my father speaks to- it's not surprising politicians do it, I mean, they're pretty old. Then there's other singers and bands I know that do cocaine...I can hook you up easily, we just need a way to ship things out of here."

"Then there's some doctor friends I got that are into this stuff too~!" Hanji sang, she was too hopped up.

Ymir gave a slow nod, agreeing with the ideas Krista had. She took a few breaths, thinking of what to do about moving everything. Slowly, she stepped over to them, Jean backing out of her way. Calmly, she told them,"Alright, Krista, I want you to get in touch with the singers. If nothing works, hit up the politicians. And Hanji?"

Hanji smirked as she lean against the threshold. "M-hm?"

"...your idea for a Christian rock-band is really fucking stupid. It was never going to work, plus, I'm not even Christian, so don't even."

"Ugh, you're such a buzzkill on creativity," Hanji pouted.

"No, I am a creative person, I just don't do stupid shit like that. Jean, watch Hanji, make sure she doesn't phone in the doctors until she's sober," Ymir instructed as she walked out. "No one goes in or out of this room. Hanji can have...oh, only one block of cocaine. You got that?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jean told her as the group left the room, turning the lights off.

"W-what!?" Hanji exclaimed. She shoved passed the three of them in the hall as she headed to collect her jackpot- she gathered them up. "If any of you touch my blocks, I swear, I will strap you down to a chair, rip your goddamn teeth out, stick needles in the sockets, and sing Krista's songs while I open up your stomach and rip out your intestines for you to wear as a scarf! You what that!?"

All three of them paused as she was in the kitchen nook, embracing the four blocks and the bag.

"Hanji, I swear-"

Jean spoke up, words quick,"The psycho woman has cocaine. The psycho woman has used said cocaine. The psycho woman is now threatening us if we take her cocaine."

Hanji grabbed a knife off the counter, pointing it at them as if she were challenging them, Ymir held Krista back, gently nudging her to get behind them.

Reluctant, Ymir said,"...the psycho woman can keep her share of cocaine."


	9. Chapter 9

Sunday, a time to bow down and worship the good Father.

Oh, someone was definitely bending over.

Hanji plastered her nose to the table, her snorts and sniffles louder than anything Ymir ever heard.

Half a week from where Krista had came to Ymir for help- she had settled in rather nicely, though she had taken to sleeping in Ymir's room. From that duration, Hanji was having way too much of her magical powder, she was more bonkers than usual. Her crazy ideas of new torture techniques, her incessant giggling, everything about her was erratic.

"...inventory count, minus Hanji's stack, brings us to about a ton of cocaine sitting in Ilse's room," Jean calculated, his calculator and notebook as a ledger for this sort of deal. "In total, we got thirty million just sitting there."

"You know, if you think about it, real hard," Ymir started,"I don't think Ilse was an addict...I mean, sure, she was in a shell her whole life but what if she was faking it all? In anyone's sane mind, having a ton stashed in your room is just, well, unnecessary-"

Hanji raised her hand,"I'd have a palace made of that stuff!"

"She must have been a distributor, not an addict," she went on.

"Doesn't matter now," Jean said, bringing them all to focus. "She's gone and we have all this shit to get out of this place."

Ymir nodded as she held a block of the white substance. "How do you suggest we get this out then? We have the people to get them to, that's not an issue."

"I believe we have to sell them in small quantities," he suggested,"we aren't the cartel here, get it? We can't be hauling around in Sasha's pick-up with all of it in the trunk. So unless we get a serious buyer, we can't move all of it-"

"Or you get a distributor," Hanji added.

"I would, but the only distributors I know are the same ones trying to kill us," Ymir huffed,"it's Annie and her boys. I don't want to deal with them, no repeat of last month."

Krista tilted her head a bit, curious, as she asked,"What happened last month?"

"Let's just say three meth-heads came rolling in and shot up the place," she sighed, wiping a hand over her face. "They killed Ilse in a crossfire, she didn't have a hunting accident."

"Oh...oh," Krista uttered, shocked,"are they coming by again?"

"I don't really know," Ymir said, shrugging,"all we got to do is wait. Don't worry, they only come if they get riled up-"

"As in she pisses them off," Jean murmured,"she spilled beer over Annie's lap at the bar, naturally she'd come to pay a visit- anyway, the stuff. Krista, did you get your hands on your contacts?"

She nodded. "A few...but they're out of the country. But, um, I know this nightclub in Mitras. The owner knows me so we should be able to sell stuff there. He's a good guy."

"Guy? Who's he?" Hanji inquired, she rested her chin against her hand as she smiled lopsidedly.

"Dot Pixis," Krista said simply.

"Pixis...?" Ymir asked, though it was more to Jean as his mouth was slightly open.

"Pixis, he's one of Mitras's largest distributors. He's not a threat or anything, he's a nice, quiet guy, old school, only operates in his nightclub now. Just kicking back and stuff," Jean recalled,"been there once, one of the best parties I've ever been to. Krista's our voucher, we should slip in our stuff to him as a supplier." He nodded, agreeing with it. "Yeah, I can see it work for us. Don't sell it all at once...move in a shipment, two bricks at a time should suffice."

"Very well."

"I'll stay at home, keep...careful watch over the, um, product," Hanji said, eye slightly twitching.

All three countered with a solid,"No."

"Well, I can't come out there?" Hanji touched her face. "Most wanted fugitive, hello? I hold some government dirt. Jean can't go out too."

Ymir held her finger up, telling them to wait, and got up. She sifted through her drawers and cabinets until she found the biker shades that she stole off the dead bodies for keepsakes. She returned and handed the three of them their pairs as she wore hers. "Eyes give away who we are. Hanji, you grew your hair out and Jean, you dyed your hair, just don't let all our faces be seen."

"Ooooh, like agents!" Hanji giggled.

"When is the soonest we can leave?" Ymir asked.

"Friday night, we get there at exactly eleven at night," Krista instructed. "I'll take care of it."

"Good...good," Ymir said, nodding,"Jean, Hanji, I want you two to stay in the- oh, huh, we ain't got a car. We need something clean and neat, bringing in a dusty pick-up is just screaming where we come from...shit, I gotta get a car."

Krista raised her hand, to which Ymir nodded to her,"My father has a few cars..."

-...-

Krista's home was large, hidden behind a white-picket fence. Trees lined the outside of it, a barn a few hundred feet from the gate, and large arenas- the house itself was styled like the landscape, Spanish architecture was the theme.

"Nice place..."

Ymir and Krista rolled up on Ymir's bike, parking it half a mile away, hidden behind the trees. Her eyes checked the perimeter from the treelines, looking around for anything that would cause alarm if she stepped on the property- the sun was setting and the skies were painted red with clouds and the sky, leaving a pinkish hue upon the grounds.

"Father is usually out on meetings at this time, won't come back until eleven at night," Krista recalled,"and the servants, they're usually watching something when they have nothing to do right now."

"Surprised he isn't calling the cops for you," Ymir murmured. "Been a week, yeah?"

"Oh, he won't start searching until a car goes missing," Krista said,"he loves collecting cars, he goes ballistic whenever I do that so..I make sure to hitch a ride or not use something with wheels. And not get spotted. Kinda hard to do but it's worth it."

"You're a pretty bad girl, huh?" Ymir smirked, she slapped her arm and walked out, making the walk to the fence and hopping it. "I'll only leave once you get the car."

Krista started making a dash for the house, she entered through the kitchen door on the right side of the mansion, then disappeared. Ymir took out her binoculars and watched, quiet.

Two minutes.

Three minutes.

A cigarette.

Five minutes.

Smoke it.

Ten minutes.

Toss.

Twelve min-

The roar of an engine burst through the silence, her eyes were shoved against the binoculars to find Krista driving a two-door vehicle. Something highly expensive, something of value, white and the top down- she got a goddamn convertible! In white!

Ymir beamed as she watched Krista sped off into the main street and drove off, tires screeching as servants came rushing out, shouting in confusion.

"Damn!" Ymir laughed, she got on her bike and began to follow the same road Krista had taken.

-...-

"Now that is what I'm talking about!" Jean howled, he let out a cry as Hanji clapped, whistling and cheering as Krista pulled the new ride up to the driveway. The two crowded to examine the car even closer. "Now that is a beauty!"

"This makes me miss my car," Hanji said breathlessly, she hugged the hood of it as Ymir came up to them a minute later.

"Just needs a new paint job, change the name plates, and it'll be practically unrecognizable," Ymir told them. "It's a rich man's car but it's a favorite among any rich guy, no doubt it's common enough to begin with. What colors do dealers usually use, Jean?"

Jean was on his knees. "I'd change the wheels, I can take care of that though. About the color, black will do well."

"I got black," Ymir said as she looked at her shelf. "Yup, three types of black. Midnight, ebony, and just black. I'd say midnight would do. Alright, ladies, douchebag-" Jean flipped her off. "-I can do a paint job within four days, that's long enough to give us another day to get ready for Friday. Jean, how long on those tires?"

"Get them in a day, tomorrow, I can get my hands on four. I'll call up Sasha for this, she owes me one."

"Good. Krista, Hanji, I want you to go with Jean when he gets the tires with Sasha- go to a thrift store and find something you all can wear. Don't worry about me, I got good clothes."

-...-

Ymir was busying herself with taping the windows over, putting the covers on them in preparation for painting. In the background, rock blasted through the speakers of her old stereo, she moved along to the beat, humming as she set herself to good work.

Working on machinery was therapeutic to her, and it was all swell just to even do a simple paint job. She knelt on the ground, finally removing the last name plate. Done with those, she placed the plates aside and went to work painting the car with the spray.

She wore a gas mask, not wanting the fumes to tear her lungs apart. In the midst of all this, Sasha drove in and parked at the driveway, hopping out of the car with Krista, Jean, and Hanji following- the three of them wore their shades to cover their eyes. Sasha pounded the garage's wall with her fist, anxious, as she shouted,"Feds started lookin'! Got a call from my Pa that they checked the church!"

Ymir ceased her work as she looked up. "Did they see you?"

"We ducked the entire time," Hanji said- she was sober, at least she could keep a straight mind when she wasn't using the drug. "Don't worry!"

"Got the tires though!" Jean announced, going around the truck and getting the tires, rolling them to Hanji so she could settle them in the back. "Undocumented, can't trace it back here."

"Beautiful," Ymir praised him as Krista showed the bags.

"Clothes too," Krista said, smiling,"even got time to nab some cosmetics."

"Really? Where at?"

"This Chinese place next to the thrift shop."

Hanji placed a hand to Krista's shoulder, smiling as she told Ymir,"This young lady here is pretty silent, knows what to take."

Ymir nodded, approving of Krista's skill while Jean was putting on a gas mask, he tossed another to Hanji. "Put the clothes in the house, you can stay inside there, we're working on some chemicals here."

"Actually, I was thinking of helping," Krista offered.

"...alright, grab a mask and I'll show you how to layer this properly," Ymir told her as they went to work,"c'mon, spray don't bite."

"Ymir, look, I gotta go...um- I saw nothin', heard nothin'," Sasha said, she rushed to her truck and drove off, speeding into the dust.

"Should she leave?" Krista asked.

"She has to," Hanji said, voice muffled. "Feds look for people associated with you. If she's not there, they're going to get suspicious of her."

-...-

Back at the dinner table once more.

Jean managed to cook up the last of the steak and serve it to all of them. "Someone has to get the steak again, we've run out."

"Is this all you people eat?" Krista asked, grimacing slightly.

"Free from Sasha," Ymir said, shrugging,"something to eat. She don't have cattle no more so she gives us what was frozen."

Ymir chewed on her piece until her teeth gnashed against a metal piece. She played with her tongue a bit, moving the metal object around until she swallowed what she had. She spat the metal bit, it clanged to her plate, turning out to be a bullet.

"Oh," Hanji murmured, still eating.

Krista placed her knife and fork down, face contorting in horror and disgust as she stared at the bullet.

Ymir snickered,"I got another one!"

-...-

Knocking at the door alerted Sasha- she hid her bong under some blankets on her couch as she got up, she was relaxed enough to face anyone. She yawned and went to answer it, only to find that she was facing the top of someone's head. She lowered her eyes to see a short man, eyes that reminded her of a racoon as the bags were obvious.

He held up a badge in front of her, FBI. She let out a big exhale as she spoke,"What can I do ya for, sir?"

"I take it you're Sasha Braus," he told her, his voice cold, colder than Ymir's. "I am Agent Levi Ackerman of the FBI. I'm looking for Historia Reiss- I understand she goes to your father's church on Sundays, you and your father are charged to watch her."

"Her?" Sasha said, she nodded. "Yup, I watch Miss Reiss when she's over at the church."

"She's gone missing. She possibly stole her father's Mustang, it's a white convertible, four seats, two doors. It's a 2011 model," Levi described,"seen it around?"

Sasha stared at him, then at his person to see the handgun he had holstered under his arm. She was about to speak, trying to find the right words, her mouth moved a bit before words formed,"Uh, never seen a car like that 'round here. Her servant usually drives her to church in this ol' fashion car, buggy or somethin'."

"Have any idea where she would have gone?"

Ymir.

Sasha held the door frame for support, eye twitching a bit. "Girl don't say much. Don't even know her favorite color, see? I ain't gonna have an idea where she would ever be. Say, gotta know somethin', sir, why's the FBI searchin' for her?"

"She's a politician's daughter," he said simply,"also ex-pop singer...you wouldn't trust cops to handle a search party, would you?"

"No, sir, I think that the FBI is more efficient."

"...here's my card," Levi said, handing her one from his pocket. "If you find anything or hear anything, just call me."

"Yes, sir," Sasha assured him as he turned heel.

She watched him drive away in a black SUV, surely he wasn't the only one there. She worried at her lip and closed the door. Anxious, she dove to her couch and unraveled her bong, shaking as she began to pray.

"Oh Lord..."


	10. Chapter 10

"It'll take an hour to get there, plus traffic, two, so let's be there at least half an hour early," Ymir said, standing over the table. She bent low under it and brought out a suit case full of four bricks of cocaine- settling it down on the table made Hanji fidget a bit. "So suit case, clothes, car, filled the tank, anything else?"

"Guns," Hanji reminded her, she gestured to the fire arms on the table. "All loaded and ready to go."

Jean took to fitting a holster over his dress shirt.

Hanji and Krista took to wearing nightclub dresses, though under Hanji's dress, strapped around her thigh, was a small handgun, enough to kill someone if need be. Ymir herself had her pistols at her waist, under the coat. She and Jean took to wearing black slacks with matching blazers, though Ymir wore a vest. They were seeking to be professional about this.

While those in slacks kept themselves black, Krista decided a light blue dress was nice for her whereas Hanji wore a sharp red, slimming and complementing her form.

"Shades, don't forget those," Krista added, she was the only one who refrained for carrying a firearm.

"Alright, let's get going, ladies, douchebag," Ymir announced, she handed the suitcase to Jean to hold as they went outside and loaded themselves into the car. "Man, hadn't been to Mitras in three years."

"We look so hot," Hanji said, excited,"I hadn't been clubbing since med school."

"No dancing, no drugs, maybe some booze, just know we're there on business," Jean told her as they started driving, Ymir at the wheel and him taking shotgun. He glanced at the side mirror and adjusted his hair a bit. "But hey, we do like fine as fuck."

Ymir smiled, amused as she laughed under her breath, heading onto the main road to get to the highway. Keeping the speed just above the speed limit, she weaved through traffic, testing the handling of their ride, loving how new it felt all around her. Krista kept to herself as Hanji decided to talk endlessly about that one time she shocked some poor guy's balls when he failed to tell her what she needed to hear.

"...and he passed out every so often, I'd have to inject him with adrenaline to keep him alive. Then the process went on and on until he cracked."

"What'd he say?" Jean asked, grimacing.

"Oh, nothing. He cracked enough that he was actually crackling," Hanji laughed.

"Remind me not to ever piss you off," Jean uttered, he turned his attention to the city that approached ahead of them.

-...-

The heart of Mitras, the bustling capitol of the state. Lights, neon signs, cars, people, it was like it all never slept.

Despite the darkness, they wore their shades.

The alleyway Krista led them to was sketchy, beyond sketchy. They each got out of the car and headed for the door that was guarded by a tall, muscled brute who had blond, short hair that reminded Ymir of the Backstreet Boys. Krista didn't seem fazed by him as she already knew him as she spoke to him,"Evening Ian, we have an appointment with Pixis."

"Miss Reiss, it has been a while," he said gruffly, he opened his palm to her and she gestured for Jean to approach. He pulled out a small bag of the sample, Ian took it and opened it, sniffing yet never snorting it. "...up the stairs."

Krista smiled pleasantly to him when he opened the door for all four, they each entered, Ymir watching the man close the door behind them. Inside, the loud bass of the nightclub and cheers from the crowd was muffled by thick walls. No doubt it was a raging party inside.

Quickly, they headed up the stairs, watched by several other guards that were prepared for anything to go wrong.

Ymir glared at each man, keeping tabs on who was where.

Hanji bumped into her, Ymir whipped her head around to the left and hissed,"Stop that."

"But it's my jam!" Hanji said, dancing in a weird way, arms waving as she rocked her hips. "Oh!"

"Quit it!"

Eventually, they reached the second floor where a bald man sat behind an oak desk. Unlike the nightclub, which was seen through a window on the wall, the office was clean and neat, though a few hookers were lounging here and there, giggling and trying to entice Jean to approach. The old man cleared his throat as Krista approached, confident.

"Looking lovely as always, Historia," Pixis commented. Krista sat down in front of him, her entourage standing behind her. "So you say you wish to sell. Bring me the product, if you will."

Jean stepped forth and brought the suitcase down to the desk, opening it and showing its contents. "Finest in-"

Pixis held his hand up to silence him. "I will only speak to Historia, not you."

Jean scoffed and went back to his position by Ymir.

"I understand that you earnestly wish to sell these," he went on as a stripper walked by, pouring Pixis some wine into his glass. He took out a single brick and held it, weighing it in his hands. "Hm...a pound. Rico, come here."

A woman with silver hair, the only one dressed modestly and wearing a blazer and a short skirt, came over to Pixis's side and took the sample Jean offered her. She put a few on the back of her hand and snorted it, her eyes widening a bit. "It's cocaine, very good."

She took the rest of the bricks to place on a scale, measuring them each.

"...all are a pound."

"Four pounds...how much would you prefer it?" Pixis asked, folding his hands on his desk.

Krista paused for a moment, then began slowly,"I was thinking of selling each for 30k."

He shook his head. "I have a source that's selling less than that."

"Then 25k?"

"Nope," he pressed on,"if you can't give it cheaper, you can return to whatever place you came from. As much as you've done some business with me before, with you being the buyer, I have to tell you that in this day and age, cocaine is, ah, not as exciting as ecstasy."

Ymir coughed a bit, catching his eyes. "Sir."

"Who are you? Didn't I tell you that I would speak to Historia?" Pixis tested her.

"I think it's best if we sell for 15k."

Jean strangled his groan as though he had a heart attack.

Pixis ignored her and looked at Krista, who promptly offered,"How about 15k each?"

The old man finally nodded. "We have a deal now."

Jean worried at his lip as Hanji shuffled her feet, all four of them watching Rico place the stacks of bills into the suitcase. Once filled, Jean took the suitcase back and held it tightly, muttering,"Jesus Christ..."

"Off you go, same time next week," Pixis ordered them.

Without another word, they filed out, cheated by an old man.

-...-

The ride was silent, not even Hanji could muster up a word.

Ymir was relaxed, however, not caring how much she made, just as long as she got the stuff out of her house. Upon pulling into the garage, Jean stormed out of the car, pissed beyond belief as he slammed his hand on the car. "That motherfucker!"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" Ymir shouted at him. "We just painted that! Hands off!"

Krista fled to the other side of the garage, Hanji suddenly being drawn into the fight as she tried to reason with him,"At least we got something out of it! C'mon, Jean, let's just get drunk and-"

"The street value of cocaine is 30k a piece," Jean barked at her, he pointed at the suitcase he held. "This? This is light!" He shook it violently. "Look at it! That cocksucker cheated us of half of what it's supposed to cost! Half!"

"At least we got a goddamn buyer!" Ymir barked.

"We could have gotten it for a better price! Unlike you, I want to make bank, we got a fucking goldmine in a dead lady's room, we may as well milk it for all it has! Instead, we're getting fucked and being paid like cheap whores in the west side of Mitras!" He threw the suitcase at Ymir, who caught it. Infuriated, he pointed at Krista as he advanced upon her. "And you! You could have done something! Made him pay at least 25k!"

Krista gave him a disgusted look, she was now pulled in as well. "What the fuck you want me to do? I was usually a buyer, not the dealer! Besides, he only talked to me, he wouldn't even speak to you or Ymir! For fuck's sake, I went through a lot of trouble to contact someone without being caught! You think you and Hanji are the only ones being hunted? If I talk to the wrong people, I drag you guys down with me! God!"

"If you all could just relax," Hanji chimed in. "We can all-"

"Don't yell at Krista!" Ymir rounded at Jean. "She at least got the shit sold so shut the fuck up!"

"Well she could have done better!" Jean countered, though Krista grew defensive and shoved him away from herself.

"Don't fucking touch me!" Krista yelled.

"Why can't I? Can't I just fuck you over and pay you a fucking dollar because you got a fine ass but I'm a fucking old man who's too cheap to give a fuck-?!"

Ymir whacked his face with the suitcase, causing him to stumble back and hold his nose, grunting in agony. Ymir held Krista's shoulder as she pulled her away, threatening him,"If you ever, ever disrespect Krista or any of us like that again, I will have Hanji shock your fucking testicles off. Now back the fuck off and quit riding her ass about this, we got the fucking money."

She tossed the suitcase by his head and walked off, Hanji approaching him as helping him up to see his face. Ymir had broken his nose, making it bleed- Hanji clucked her tongue, shaking her head. "You really shouldn't have gone off like that, Jean."

"Shut the fuck up," Jean growled as the door to the house slammed shut. "Fucking idiot..."

"You can't blame her," Hanji told him as she helped him up, taking the money with her. They entered the kitchen where Jean was settled down at the table- the door slamming at the other end of the house told the two that Ymir shouldn't be bothered for the rest of the night. Hanji left for a moment to remove her dress, slipping on a large shirt and going around in nothing but that and her panties, in her hand was a med kit.

Jean stayed still as she cleaned him up. "Half...we only got 60k."

"But that's good," Hanji tried to convince him as she sat by him, cotton dabbing the blood off his face. "Jesus, Ymir really fucked up your nose there...promise you, I won't shock your balls, you're right about what you said. However, right now, we take what we can get. This isn't like before when you used to control your own prices. But look at us."

She cleaned off most of the blood and stared at his nose.

"Our lives went down the drain now. We can't do much without getting more shit thrown on us. Alright, Jean, stay with me here."

Jean was confused for a moment before she grabbed his nose and snapped it back in place, causing him to cry out in pain and shock. His fist slammed the wooden table as he wheezed, groaning,"You fucking bitch-"

"You're the one who got his nose broken," Hanji reminded him, she went on to stuffing some small cloth up his nose to catch the blood. "Goodness...unless you want to keep getting yourself screwed over by Pixis, you got to find other distributors." She prepared a syringe with some pain meds, readying to inject him. "While you're doing that, don't piss Ymir off."

Jean sighed and closed his eyes, tipping his head back as he stared at the ceiling. "...yeah, whatever. Thanks, Hanji."

"As much as I spent my pastime torturing, I still have a code I follow on my own," Hanji softly told him. Done with mending him, she got up and cleaned up the table. "I'll see you tomorrow, or not. Night, Jean."

"Hey, Hanji," Jean said to her, she glanced at him, stopping a few feet away from him. She beckoned him to talk. "...don't snort all the stock."

"Not planning to with Ymir pissed off."


	11. Chapter 11

_"...authorities are looking for this woman."_

A picture of Krista popped up, her real name under it- the shot came from an advertisement of her brand of perfume. She was dressed in a topless dress, blue, with heels on, her hand holding the bottle shaped like a heart with light blue liquid inside.

_"Historia Reiss, daughter of Rod Reiss, who is running for Senator, and also singer who released her latest album 'Kiss My Chains' last year. She was last seen at her home in Hermiha, her disappearance sudden. If you have seen Miss Reiss anywhere, please contact authorities on this number."_

"Told ya, told ya, they're lookin' for her," Sasha said, she was curled up on the couch, arms folded over her knees.

The tensions between Ymir and Jean had begun to cool down, both now on greeting terms. Ymir sat at the table with Krista, both eating some cereal, unfazed by the news.

"Relax, it's completely fine," Jean assured her as he sat near Sasha, he was busying himself with counting the money to split it evenly. "Just keep your cool and no one would suspect us."

"Oh, just wait, just wait...I got visited by some short Fed the other night," Sasha said, nervous. Her hand was still clutching the card, she showed it to Jean. "See? He visited. Told me to call if anything happens."

"And you won't call, right?" Ymir asked, her voice sharp.

"N-no! Not at all!"

Ymir scoffed and went back to chewing once more.

When the missing persons report ended, Hanji had decided to crawl out of her den, stretching as she sang,"Good moooooorning everyone!"

"Mornin'," Sasha said.

"Morning."

"Good morning."

Hanji stooped low to see what Sasha's holding. "What's this? You look antsy, something up?"

"Uh, uh, Feds checked me." She gave her the card. "S...some Levi Ackerman."

"Levi?" Hanji asked, she examined the card closely- her mouth hung open. Suddenly, she leaped over the couch and grasped Sasha by her shoulders. She shouted frantically. "WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HIM!?"

"I-I...I s-"

"WHAT DOES HE KNOW!? DID YOU TELL HIM ABOUT ME!? STOP STUTTERING, YOU IDIOT!"

"Lay off her!" Jean exclaimed, he tried prying her off but Hanji was stronger. "He only asked her about Historia! Not you, Jesus! What's shoved up your ass? A goddamn beaker?"

Hanji rounded at him, knocking over the stacks of cash, causing him to gasp and try to reach the bills. "Oh, I dunno, he's the one who put me in Cuba, he's the one who tried to arrest me after I worked my time there, he's the one that knows how to catch criminals! Shit! I gotta get out of here, skip town- give me the cash! I need to get out of here! Move!"

She was rushing about like a chicken without a head.

Neither of them tried to stop her, even when she had a suitcase full to go. However, she stumbled, dropping her baggage and popping open the suitcase, revealing she had several bricks inside.

"Oh god! That's a lot!" Sasha squeaked.

Jean got up and grappled her, tossing her over to the couch and onto her back.

"You are going nowhere with the shit, so sit down and tell us who this guy is!" Jean shouted in her face, trying to snap her out of her panic as he held held her down from the side.

Hanji huffed, breathing loudly as Ymir and Krista approached, all four willing to restrain her in case she decided to bolt. She struggled a bit but realized Jean wouldn't let her go- Ymir would probably fill her head with lead if she even thought of stealing Sasha's truck. She looked at each of them frantically, she managed to blurt out,"Levi is one of the best trackers in the FBI. When he's on to something, he zones in on it until it gives up!"

"Alright, so we got some guy snooping around town," Ymir said conversationally. "He can't come here, he doesn't know anything about this place."

"No! I tried to play his game, I thought I was winning, then he screwed me over!" Hanji exclaimed. "It's only a matter of time before he comes here!"

"You know this guy...surely you can think of something to avoid him," Krista reasoned,"I mean...you can learn better from before, isn't that what a scientist does? Trial and error?"

"He...he's good, you guys, trust me, he's good. The man lives to hunt people down." She fidgeted, her voice lowered itself, allowing Jean to slowly release her. She sat up, covering her face in her hands. "He gets off on catching people, I swear, he's the most perfect dog for the government."

"Hold up," Jean told her,"if he's so good at hunting down people, why were you able to get away from him the last time you saw him?"

Hanji paused, her words tittering at her lips, she countered him easily,"I used the bathroom excuse, of course! It's true!"

"...whatever, you know this guy, so just let us know what we can do," Ymir said, before Hanji could open her mouth, she added,"and it must not involve you skipping town."

"Most likely he has access to a database on people sought after by the FBI, me and Jean particularly. We can't be seen outside in Trost. Sure, we can go with you to drops, but not anywhere in town," Hanji advised,"just staying off the grid for me and Jean is all we have to do, Krista will have to do the same as she is his priority."

Ymir opened her palms to her, hands raising up, sarcasm in charades. "There we go. Easy. I don't see why you have to panic."

"It's Levi," Hanji said,"Levi."

Slowly, they retreated from her, giving her space. She got up and left the cocaine on the floor, showing she wasn't going to leave just yet. Hanji strode inside her room, closing the door so that she could lay in bed, peace was what she needed. She didn't feel like taking a bump at the moment, her thoughts of Levi worried her.

If she decided to take a hit now, it wouldn't go well for her, she would do something stupid.

Her fingers mingled with one another on her stomach, eyes focused on the ceiling.

White, just like her old office back in Mitras. She removed her glasses to rub her eyes, groaning, her hands started shaking.

One little hit wouldn't hurt.

She went over to her desk where there were already neat, white lines ready for her, her nose dove in and she felt the burn burst through her nasal passage, her mind already off.

Her office, it was a nice place.

-...-

-Seven Years Ago-

Her hands were shaking, not out of anxiousness but out of excitement.

Hanji Zoe was a young woman, a renown surgeon that was rising up in the ranks of her time. So many men, women, and children under her belt, she saved so many lives, and she was proud of it. But she had an epiphany when she was getting a large, vibrating dildo out of a man's anus the other day- it was after when her very first death occurred.

She had power. Almost like a god.

Many would pay her for her hands and mind, just to live another day. Always on the edge between life and death, those patients, always. Her finger could simply slip and poof! Flat line! Hello!

The morbidity increased over time. It started with reading about death, how it happens- it was like relearning how to handle someone's life. Like nature, the thoughts evolved, she was beginning to watch one of those snuff films.

Hanji was a genius. From life to technology, she knew everything about the sciences, she was a well-learned woman. She could get her hands on those illegal films easily.

She hunkered down in an alley, eyes scanning over the dank street. A trench-coat was what she wore. And at this time, her hair was short, almost like a pixie-cut, though she only got that hair for the sake of convenience. She had lives to save, no time to hold her hair back. People would mistake her for a man because of that, though she didn't give a fuck, she was making bank.

Anyway...

Those films she watched, they weren't enough for her.

She needed something else, after all, it was a learning process.

Hanji spotted a man laying down on the ground. Across from him, just at the other corner, was a bodyguard. She knew that place the bodyguard was watching, it was a nightclub, just a random one, she didn't care. Quietly, she approached, in her pocket was a rag doused in chlorine. She edged closer until she grabbed him from the side, shoving the chloroform into his face and covering his mouth and nose.

He grunted, trying to shake her off but the chemical had taken his consciousness all too fast.

Smiling at capturing her first, she dragged him down the alleyway, all the way to her car and dumping him in the trunk. It was a hard job, hauling him, but she managed- she'd carried cadavers in med school. This guy wasn't any different.

Through the lifting, his glasses toppled off, but Hanji didn't think much of it. Slamming the trunk door, she hummed and went to the driver's side.

When she drove off, she ignored anything that was left behind.

If only Hanji picked up the man's glasses, she would have seen the small, red dot that glowed on its side. It was unnoticeable yet still there.

Blinking.

Blink.

Blink.

Blink...

Around another corner, opposite of the alley where Hanji parked, was a black van, unmarked, and tucked away behind a wall. Inside, tensions rose, along with temper.

"Shit! They got Ness!" Levi hissed. "Fucking Pixis..."

Erwin exhaled, disappointed. The stakeout for the drop was now foiled, their hopes of busting Pixis for distribution dashed away by this shady looking fellow. Immediately, Erwin ordered all agents inside,"Pull out, they got Ness."

"What?" Isabel questioned, the music blaring over her intercom as she and Farlan were forced to withdraw. "No, they couldn't have. They shouldn't have known!"

"Well, they fucking knew," Levi said once he snatched the mic from Erwin. "All units, stand down, withdraw. I don't want a firefight."

Erwin was watching the kidnapping on a loop, Levi, however, took the control and fast forwarded it to when he saw the car, a light blue one. For a split second, he could sight of the license plate- he paused it and read off the plate numbers. Lucky for them, the numbers was not blurred enough to be illegible. He took the number down and ran it through the computer.

Within a moment, a profile popped up on the computer screen, revealing the kidnapper.

"Moblit Baner," Levi read out,"lives in an condo five miles from here."

"Farlan, Isabel, meet us off of North King Avenue, we need to get Ness back," Erwin ordered.

-...-

He staggered a bit, he looked up to see a woman who thought pigtails were still in fashion. He was in his slacks and dress shirt, though his look was disheveled. having been disturbed from his downtime, he mumbled,"Can I help you?"

"Are you Moblit Baner?" Levi asked, Moblit had to look down to see him.

Moblit nodded,"Um, yes, again, can I help you-whoa, whoa, whoa!" Isabel approached him with handcuffs as he bleached in her face, she grimaced as she pinned his chest against the door frame. "Wha' you guys want? You want to fuck or something? I didn't know the office sent me a stripper-"

"You're under arrest for obscuring a Federal operation," Levi said as he went inside, turning on the lights some more. Apparently, the man had been drinking and watching pornography, his suspicions of him being the actual kidnapper were growing less and less. "Isabel, sit him at the table."

"Ugh, Farlan, you do it, his breath is rancid," Isabel uttered, though Farlan sidled away. She led him to the table and shoved him into the seat. In turn, he puked over her nightclub dress. "Oh! I just bought this thing!"

Farlan smirked, his throat holding in a snickering sound.

"Alright, Baner, I need you to focus on me," Levi demanded, standing across from him. Moblit gave a lopsided smile, then started drifting his attention to the stove. Levi snapped his fingers in front of his face, then lightly slapped his cheek. "Do you own a light blue car?"

"Yes, sir, officer, sir!" Moblit blurted, he gave a feeble salute. "Am I in trouble for driving drunk? I hadn't driven tonight!"

"Really?" Levi asked. "Were you jacking off?"

"M-hm!"

Farlan went to the couch and examined the rags dropped to the floor, he snorted and nodded to Levi. "Definitely..."

"Can you explain to me why your car was in an alleyway five miles from here?"

Moblit shook his head. "Nope, I don't know nothing, buuuuuut...I can tell you I don't have my car with me right now!"

Isabel was off in the bathroom, needing to clean whatever vomit she can possibly get rid of. Moblit was focused on her for a moment before Levi slammed his hand on the table. "Where is your car then!?"

"Relax, little man!" Moblit laughed. "You look funny when you're mad! My boss took my car. Hers was in the shop so I let her borrow it until tomorrow, she car-pulls, and she's a horrible driver."

"Who is your boss?"

He threw his hands up, excited for some reason. "Doctor Hanji Zoe! Works at Saint Maria's Hospital!"

Moblit fell back with the chair and slammed down to the ground, passing out. Farlan took this time to undo the handcuffs as Levi scoffed, calling out,"Isabel, we're going. I'll get you another dress."

"Damn right you are," Isabel shot at him as they headed out. "What a prick..."

"Aw, Isabel, don't be mad at a drunk, it's bad luck," Farlan said, he chuckled as he sniffed her. "Hm...vodka, just straight up vodka."

She shoved him away from her Levi sharply chastised them,"Grow the fuck up, you two."


	12. Chapter 12

_Her fingers, damn, they were small but she knew how to get her. Ymir hummed in approval, her ankles digging into her back when she felt them curl upwards inside of her. Jesus, the girl was a minx, those eyes were lewd, as was her mouth when she lowered her head and wrapped her tongue around her clit, going in slow, teasing circles._

_Ymir groaned, low and deep, spurring Krista to begin picking up the pace, though she pulled her fingers out of her. Ymir groaned again, though in utter disappointment until she felt something larger being shoved inside of her, thrusting in and out of her, still going at that pace. Her legs spread apart instinctively, her hands gripping the sheets._

_"Jesus fucking Christ-"_

-...-

Ymir woke up, no hangover, she didn't feel like drinking last night. Or did she drink? Maybe a little bit. Hm...

Actually, last night, she had no idea what happened.

All she knew was that she was nude next to Krista, her eyes wide as she stared at her sleeping form. Her back was clean, pristine as though she never met that drug that sunk her deep into a drain. Dumbly, her mouth hung open, wondering how this was even possible.

Did she fuck around with her?

She couldn't remember shit. Slowly, she got up, careful not to wake her, as she gathered a tank top and some panties, her confusion growing ever so larger, just like that dildo on the floor. Holy shit, was that a vibrator on the edge of the bed? It dawned on her that her, ahem, toys were scattered on the bed. This made no sense.

Cautiously, she went to the sink and cleaned her face, rubbing away the grime that had accumulated.

The toys, the nudity, yup, they definitely fucked.

She quietly headed out of the other door to avoid waking the blond up.

Across from her, in the kitchen, she saw Hanji and Jean giggling over something. She glared at them, they fucking knew something. She advanced upon them, demanding,"What the hell happened last night?"

"Oh, I dunno," Jean told her, he had a hard time eating his cereal.

Fuck his cereal.

"You. Drugged. Me."

Jean coughed a bit, prompting Hanji to slap his back.

"No, no, we didn't do anything," Hanji assured her, she drank her coffee. "You were fine last night, next thing we knew, you were carrying the girl to your room. Last time I saw you have so much fun was when she was first here, and by fun, I mean sex. Hm, let me think...ah, she drugged you."

"With what?" Her voice softened, though she felt a pang of bitterness. Drugged? Jesus...

"Judging by the symptoms, I'd like to say Ecstasy. Sure, your little friend is off whatever drug she was addicted to but clearly she has access to that other substance."

Fuck Hanji for being so casual.

The details were cloudy, all she could think of was Krista topping her. Honestly, the girl, the nerve of her. She stormed into her room, slamming the door against the wall to cause Krista to yelp from her sleep and sit up. She dragged the blanket over to cover herself, she gave a weak wave and bid her,"Morning, Ymir."

"Now what the fuck did you do to me last night?" Ymir asked, she swore she could feel an aneurysm growing inside her skull.

"We took X is all," Krista said simply. She patted the bed to beckon her to come sit but Ymir refused. "You and I, we took the drug together and then we just...you know had fun, a lot, actually. Jean offered it to us and we took it."

"JEAN!" Ymir barked, he roared with laughter throughout the house, followed by Hanji's cackling. "For fuck's sake..."

She closed the door behind her before she decided to act on impulse to kill him.

"Last time we had sex, or at least tried, we took some acid, but you started screaming and thinking I was the girl from Evil Dead so I bailed," Krista told her. "Don't worry, personally, I'm not addicted to those substances, just the heroin. Doesn't hurt to experiment."

Ymir now felt it safe to sit by her. She rubbed her clean face again and again, breathing through her fingers. "Next time you want to fuck, just ask, you don't have to drug me. It's degrading."

"I didn't ask, you started it," Krista simply told her. She got out of bed, standing in front of her. Her front was a different story. There were several scars over her abdomen, some purple and black marks that seemed too inhuman to have been made by Ymir- she never seen anything with that shade of bruise before. Her eyes wandered up to see her breasts, small but attractive, amazingly, then her arms.

The burns were more noticeable and in the crook of her elbows were several puncture scars, probably from the overuse of needles. Disregarding all that, a testimony of how her life went down the drain, she was rather, well, hot.

She looked down now, noticing those golden hairs, sort of short though not- she must have neglected to shave after being with Ymir this long.

"You're making that face," Krista snickered, she cupped Ymir's cheek when she showed confusion. "That face, you call it your 'Horny Face'."

"...what are we?" Ymir asked her, slightly frowning. "I mean, sure we fucked last night."

"We started off as friends, I am rather thankful you took me in and took care of me," she started, she didn't move as Ymir's gaze was fixed on her alone. "If I recall, you approached me first at the church. You went through the trouble of trying to sweep me off your feet, you really suck at that, pretty corny too."

Being reminded of how much of a Christian she tried to portray herself as made Ymir laugh a bit, her smile ebbing away. Yes, she did try to charm her, she did find her rather beautiful the first time she met her, and she did reach out to her, hell, she was growing a soft spot for her. It had been a while since she found someone, not since she was traveling about with Jean, going here and there for a party and a girl to fuck.

Krista went on,"Aside from that, you told me point-blank that you like me."

The day Krista came over during the storm, beaten and quiet, Ymir didn't think for a moment to question her reasoning. She had some form of pity for her, it was an understandable sympathy towards her, it developed into something else- the need to keep her away from her father.

If it were any other person, she would have done the same as well though she would have to charge them for living under her room; Krista, however, was the first Ymir allowed to stay without paying.

Ymir really did have feelings.

"I do," Ymir admitted, she found herself confessing, and it was true. She grabbed her wrist and brought her down to her, picking her up and holding her in her lap. "I really do."

She kissed her cheek before tossing her aside to the bed, following her and laying beside her, resting her head against her arm to watch her.

"Me being a lesbian...can't wait to hear Mitras blow up about this," Krista giggled, she rolled her eyes. "That takes care of that. Say, do you remember what happened last night?"

Ymir shrugged. "Fuck if I know. Next time, let's do it sober, alright? No X, no acid, nothing."

"I'll make sure we don't have drugs within reach."

"Good."

-...-

"You wanted to see me, Erwin?" Levi asked, unsmiling as usual.

The FBI had headquarters in Mitras, a place where Levi had decided to transfer to a year ago for who knows how long. No one figured out why he decided to stay there when he was offered a perfectly better job in the country's capitol. He was obviously too advanced for this city, seeing as he closed more cases than any other agent in the division.

Some say he had personal business here.

Others say he wanted revenge.

Most simply never questioned him or his motives so long as he did his job.

"Yes, Levi," Erwin told him, he gestured to the three that stood near his desk.

A young man, brunette, though looking eternally pissed off, stood at attention, as did the other two. A blond guy and an Asian, one of which Levi recognized instantly.

"These three are the newest recruits to the FBI, Eren Jaeger, Armin Arlert, and Mikasa-"

"Ackerman," Levi finished. "I know her, she's my cousin."

Erwin nodded, he knew this already. "Either way, I am assigning them to help you on your case for Reiss, along with the other one. They need to get started in working out in the field so I figured they would go well with you. Each one has their strengths, you can get to know them along the way."

"Sir, permission to speak?" Eren asked, his eyes were vibrant despite his expression showing some sort of aggression; Levi gave him a curt nod. "I would like to say how much it is an honor to be working with you."

"A kiss-ass, interesting." Levi decided the meeting was over, he gestured for them to follow. "Come, I'll debrief you with what I'm doing."

Eren's expression fell, he followed, tail tucked between his legs as the other two came with. They walked through the hallway, it was quiet at HQ, something Levi relished in. He brought them to the debriefing room and turned on the projection from the computer. He accessed his account and pulled up files.

"If you kids pay attention to the news, you all would know that Historia Reiss had disappeared."

"Yeah, she's just another pop-singer who turned addict," Eren recalled.

Armin added,"She's also Rod Reiss's daughter, that guy running for Senate. No doubt he's gaining more votes because the public sympathizes with him."

"Same girl. According to Rod Reiss, she took off one day with one of his cars. However, one of the servants say otherwise- the stableman recounted that a week before the car itself went missing, Reiss herself left the house on horseback during that thunderstorm. So here we know she had left on her own accord, no kidnapping. Both girl, horse, and car are missing."

"So we shouldn't be looking for a car," Mikasa finally spoke,"we should be looking for the horse. By now, the car may be gone since she would have skipped town. It'll take us more time but we have something when we find the horse."

Levi nodded, he replaced the picture of Historia, putting up a shot of the white horse. "Imported from Spain, it's a white Andalusian mare, one of the best dressage horses from the Spanish Riding School itself. Measured at 16 hands, estimated to have cost 200k, and it is still out there somewhere."

Mikasa approached the projected image to have a closer look, though Armin told him,"Horses can travel for quite a while, but given that there was a storm when she took off, she must have rode not that far from where she lived. We ought to check within a ten mile radius from her house in Hermiha, reach into Trost as well. She must have decided to stay over at someone's place."

"...and if she stayed at that person's place, she must have known them well enough to help steal the car," Mikasa concluded. "Does she know anyone in the area?"

"Only a pastor's daughter, Sasha Braus, though Braus lives too far for Historia to run to, been there myself. We are going there today, I requested that Erwin should bring in help to make the search go faster, and you three are my help. It's a simple job, not hard, just a lot of driving, knocking, and praying that those hicks don't shoot your balls off."

He turned off the computer.

"I want two men teams for this. I will take Mikasa, Eren and Armin, you two look as well. Our priority is to find Reiss, not to bust anyone for drugs there, it's not our assignment. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," the three told him.

He started walking, Eren following as Mikasa and Armin went to prep themselves.

As they entered the car in the garage, Eren had to bring it up.

"Sir," Eren started while Levi pulled out into the street. "After we find Reiss, what was that other case Smith mentioned?"

"Just a project I've been stuck on for a while," he answered,"it's another hunting job I have to do. You know Hanji Zoe? The Mad Doctor?" Eren nodded. "Yeah, that fucking nut-job of a doctor ran off on my watch. Crafty little bitch, really, she knew I was coming to get her and she left. I have reason to believe she's still in the state somewhere and apparently, I have the most experience with her. As a result, I was assigned to find her again."

"How'd she get away from you? You're one of the best agents," Eren said, there was disappointment in his tone made Levi begin to pick up speed on the highway.

"...sometimes, you find someone who's better than you. Either way, I can't go looking for her now that some spoiled rich kid decided to up and leave. Damn...next time I find her, I swear I'm going to kill her for all the headache she's given me."

"I'm sure you can't just kill someone, sir."

"Actually, I can, I've been given orders to do it if I really do see her. She's pissed off a lot of people back in her days."

"Jesus..."

"You can read up on the files when we get back. May as well get you three acquainted with her since she'll be your problem as well."

From there, the ride was silent, Eren not looking ahead or to his left, only looking out the window.

The answer had been given to Eren.

He now knew why Levi hadn't left this city.


	13. Chapter 13

Friday night once again, the suitcase was filled and the attires were slapped on to the dealers as they got out of the car in Mitras.

The usual hubbub of city life reached their ears, lights were bright as ever, and a slight tinge of wet metal permeated through the air. Ymir sniffed a bit, her hand going to her nose to remove some snot. Jean adjusted his tie, his other hand holding the suitcase. Out of the four of them, Hanji wandered a bit, going down the alleyway a little bit.

"Hey, Hanji, what're you doing?" Ymir asked, her arm locked with Krista's. They didn't follow her as she looked around the alleyway. "Someone there?"

Hanji stopped for a moment, looking back at them. As though she brushed off the thoughts, she waved Ymir away. "You guys go on ahead inside. I need to smoke a bit if that's alright."

Ymir shrugged while Krista tugged on her arm. "C'mon, we have to get in."

The three went inside through the back, leaving the former doctor to herself. She reached into her clutch and took out a cigar, she lit it and took the puffs with every memory that rose from the alleyway.

It was seven years ago that she was in this very alley, the agent she caught for her fun was sitting over there by the garbage bins. She walked over to that spot.

Now that she thought of it, he wasn't skinny or actually dirty- he was clean, healthy, and had a bit of fat on him.

-...-

Down the road they went, to the final house they had to inspect was listed to be at a twenty minute drive from the main road. Lucky for them, it had no fence, nothing to block them from entering the property.

They decided to regroup here at the last potential hideout. Levi and Eren parked themselves at the driveway, it was a long day in the heat so the cold night air was welcoming to them when they stepped out. The house was a lonely one, quiet and peaceful, though through their headlights, they saw that there were bullet holes lining the walls.

Fire fight.

"Must be a crack house," Eren commented.

"Perhaps," Levi barely agreed with him as they went to the front door, knocking on it.

No answer.

Levi knocked again.

Nothing.

"Maybe they're not homey people," Eren said.

Just then, a car engine came rumbling close- around the corner was Mikasa and Armin, who parked behind the other car. By the time they approached, Levi asked,"Well?"

"No leads, though we learned that this house is owned by a lady named Ymir," Mikasa reported,"she doesn't really do much, not an important person in town. However, her cousin, Ilse Langnar, was apparently killed just a month ago. Firefight between this motorcycle gang, Ymir apparently spilled a drink on one of their members."

"Ymir, hm, weird name," Eren told her.

"We did a background check on her. She's been arrested for drinking in public, nudity in public, and disorderly conduct, just minor things," Armin added. "Interestingly enough, she houses people in her place, like a landlord of sorts for criminals, people on the run, killers, that sort of thing. One such is Jean Kirstein."

"I remember him," Levi recalled,"Erwin was the one who did the raid on his property. He got away...hn, five years and we finally know where he is."

"Should we nail him while we're at it?"

"Why the hell not? He's a fugitive, last thing to check off on Erwin's list. No one seems to be home. Mikasa, I want you to check the entire property on foot, see if there are any barns here. I want the two of you to come with me inside," Levi told the two men, each nodded and got their flashlights out, their arms ready.

Levi often gambled on things, he gambled on the fact that most people out here often neglected to lock their doors. He twisted the knob and found it free of a lock, he entered, the rest following closely. They took different directions. The eldest of them took to checking on the bedrooms, Eren examining the kitchen, and Armin looking for the garage door.

Levi wandered down the hallway, making sure his feet didn't thud against the woodwork.

The stench of hookah, marijuana, and alcohol filled his nostrils, it reminded him that this house was just like any other house he had done a raid in.

He entered one room, flashlight scanning over the whole perimeter and finding nothing but sex toys and guns, bullets scattered here and there. He made a mental note to check if these firearms were registered under Ymir. He moved to the bathroom, nothing.

He checked another room down the hall, finding it open- he entered it to discover that it was a meth lab of sorts. Several pounds of illegal amounts of the drug were in some bins- a bed and air filter was all that made the room close to normal. He guessed it as Jean's, the other to be Ymir's.

Going out, he found two more rooms that were left. He tried to open one door but found that there were locks, chains, and even a combination lock. Whatever was in here surely had to be definitely illegal. He scoffed- it was bad enough they were in the house, already trespassing. It would be best to leave this room alone for now.

The final room was the one that was closed.

Hoping for it to be unlocked, he took the knob and turned it slowly.

No resistance.

Levi sighed, opening the door and examining the room.

No one was inside.

"Clear!" Eren called out.

Armin's voice followed. "Clear!"

In turn, Levi had to respond,"Clear!"

He grabbed his phone and texted the same to Mikasa before returning his attention to the messy room. Without having to worry about the inhabitants, he stayed further in. On the desk was a bag of cocaine, opened with several lines on the surface of the table. He stared at the lines- Hanji did cocaine heavily.

He found a laptop as well, it was protected by a password but it lacked a username to indicate who owned it.

The bed was left a mess, clothes were scattered on the floor.

A door off to the side caught his attention, the door left ajar just a little bit. He furthered the gap- inside were possibly a hundred or more drugs over the shelves, then gauze, needles, practically anything for a fully stocked medical office...

Why the hell would this cocaine addict need a medical closet?

An object caught his eyes, a glasses case, leather. He reached for it to undo the clasp. Inside was a pair of classes, they looked just like Hanji's- no frame for the lenses and, when he glanced through one lens, nearly blinded him.

It hit him.

The cocaine, the medical supplies, the glasses- Hanji Zoe had taken to residing here, of all places.

He pocketed the glasses case and checked the desk for anything else; there was a damn hairbrush. He took several stands and shined a light on them, they were brown, dark brown. Damn, the search was over now for her, now he can-

"Sir," Eren addressed him, pulling him out of the accumulating thoughts. "Armin said he found some nameplates. They match Reiss's car."

"Is there proof Krista is actually here?" Levi asked him as he didn't look away from the hair he held.

"Not yet-"

Levi's phone rung.

He answered it, pocketing the hair in an evidence bag. "What is it?"

"There's a barn here, the horse you told us about is here."

"Take pictures, meet me back in the car. We need to get back to HQ," Levi told her as he led Eren out to the garage.

"Back to HQ?"

"Krista and Jean aren't the only ones we have to look in to."

Armin presented the evidence to Levi, who nodded as he hung up. "Seems like she removed the plates, then repainted the car." He gestured to the floor to show the black spray paint. "By now, she would have left."

"Doubt it," Levi said,"put those back."

"Sir?"

"The girl may have decided to stay here, not leave. I believe she's in a relationship with Ymir," he said,"but there's more I need you three to be briefed on."

-...-

Bright and sunny, Levi called his team back after the DNA tests revealed that the hair and glasses did indeed belong to Hanji Zoe.

Bringing the results to Erwin, he approved for Levi to do whatever he needed done. He offered more hands on this but Levi declined, he had to be subtle about this- by now, Hanji would be paranoid. He learned that Sasha was a friend of Ymir's, no doubt that Sasha would had went running to Ymir to tell her he was in town, searching for Krista.

"For what we know, our new targets added to our list may possibly be aware that I have been poking around in Trost," Levi said as the three new operatives sat at the conference table. "And for that, we need to be careful about this."

He presented a class photo of Jean Kirstein on the screen.

"This is Jean Kirstein, by now he is twenty-two, son and accomplice of the Kirstein Case back in 2010 when he was seventeen. During the bust, he escaped and had been off the grid until now. His family was busted for growing marijuana in their barn after their breeding ranch fell apart- Erwin brought them all the justice except him, and now, we're going to take him down."

Several more pictures were shown of him riding his horses, playing football as the quarterback, then finally, his family in a group photo.

"As far as we know, he's not as violent as his parents. He merely ran off, didn't raise a gun against our agents or the DEA. We can take him down easily, however, there is someone else added to the issue of retrieving Krista."

The cursor on the computer clicked on a file he had been pouring over many times. As he done before, he laid out the information about his target, hopes rose in him just slightly for his new team to help him eliminate her.

"Doctor Hanji Zoe. Renowned doctor and serial killer, known for killing patients during their operations. The first three were overlooked as accidents but the next six warranted for her immediate arrest after family members could no longer wait for the so-called recovery stages to be over."

"She was all over the news a year ago," Eren said, Levi nodded in turn.

"Indeed she was, though we put out a mass announcement she managed to evade us. What makes her different than the average criminal is something we left out from the public," Levi began, he glared at Hanji's profile, back when her picture was first taken and her hair was short. "Her first murder was eight years ago when myself and two of my former partners were in charge of putting Pixis behind bars, though that case was put on hold."

A picture of Ness was presented to them.

"Agent Dita Ness. He was our watchman, she kidnapped him. While we thought she was associated with Pixis, it turned out that she wasn't. We tracked her down to her home but we couldn't find her, she was smart enough to avoid us. So...we decided to have another agent to stand out, she approached him again, same location, and we got her.

"For murdering an agent of ours, Erwin offered her three options. Execution, prison without bail, or working for the CIA, apparently, the CIA was doing an experiment for captive terrorists down in Guantanamo- Project Redemption. Serial killers with an IQ over 130 are sent there to torture prisoners for information. Naturally, the twisted bitch enlisted. Without fail, Hanji was the best out of four that were sent in. At the time, I was transferred to the CIA to keep a close eye on her as each killer was monitored by agents who knew them best.

"Seven years later, after she had done her service, we kept our part of the bargain for her and let her back in society. Of course, all that time of torturing others was stuck in her head, and when the CIA learned we let her go, we were charged to find her and kill her as she knew too much. A year ago, we found her in her office...firefight broke out, she managed to escape through the fire escape in the bathroom.

"From there, like Kirstein, she went off the grid. People, I tell you that this case has escalated. Zoe is a dangerous woman, we have to be cautious. This case is no longer a simple find and return mission. We will be pitted against one of the worst people I have ever come across in my career. Hanji Zoe is quick, smart, and obviously high."

Mikasa raised her hand, he allowed her to speak,"Excuse me, sir, but high?"

"I forgot to mention that she is a cocaine addict. The CIA thought it best to increase the severity of the killers by giving them drugs so she was assigned cocaine."

-...-

"Jesus fuck, Hanji, how much more can you take in?" Ymir asked when she found Hanji up at the crack of dawn, snorting her usual dose. "Damn, your heart must be fucking strong."

"I take careful steps, this is an art," Hanji told her, her hands showing the perfect lines. Ymir rolled her eyes when the doctor returned to her 'art', she sat down next to Krista as she was using Hanji's laptop.

"What are you up to?" Ymir asked, slinging an arm over her shoulder, leaning by to see the screen. A listing of penthouses in Mitras, it turns out. "Hm?"

Krista kissed her hand and relaxed in the crook of her arm. "Just wondering...instead of having to drive back and forth, it's such a hassle. I mean, wouldn't it be easier if we store our stuff in the city? Maybe even live there. I've seen it in movies, we can go under a fake name and live in one of those houses."

"We don't have enough for it, babe," she told her, frowning.

"You guys don't, but I do...Hanji?" Krista called to her, trying to get her attention; Hanji snapped her head up from the coffee table, eyes wide and piercing. "Oh...uh, are you good at hacking?"

Hanji nodded vigorously.

"How about stealing money from my account? If I log in and transfer anything, it could be traced to me."

"I definitely can, how much do you need?" Hanji inquired, speaking quickly as Krista handed her the laptop. Hanji bunched close to the two, snuggling against Ymir's arm as well much to the taller woman's distaste. Krista showed her the account, her bank, and gave her all the information possible.

"All of it."

Hanji tacked away at her laptop, whistling as she did so. Her jaw dropped at the amount Krista actually had, finding it to be no more than 30 million, what she made within the past two years of being famous. It wasn't as much as she expected- perhaps it was her father who took it for his funding. Hanji went on, clicking on and on, setting up accounts, rerouting everything to a false account without gaining detection.

"Alright...I used a safe IP address, it'll be difficult to trace us but possible," Hanji told her, she finally sat up and away from Ymir's arm. "...oh, also, how are we going to break this to Jean?"

"Why?" Ymir said, just slightly concerned.

"He's going to be majorly pissed off that we suddenly up and found a penthouse, settled there while we have a ton of cocaine. It'll be pointless to sell it...unless we can buy something with it," Hanji started, scratching her chin. "Ah...I know this one man, Moblit. He was my assistant until I ran off. My business fell apart but hopefully money will be his leverage- no one would ever hire a killer's assistant. Hold on, I'll give him a call...Ymir, let me borrow your phone for a moment."

Hanji got up and stepped out after Ymir gave her the phone.

"What kind of name is Moblit?" Ymir snickered, Krista laughed with her as she went back to looking over new housing.

"It sounds French to me...'ello, my name iz Moblit and I am going to rip out your intestinez," Krista mocked the unknown man, Ymir's chest heaved at this.

An hour passed.

When Hanji returned, they looked up at her expectantly as she handed the phone back. "Funny story about the guy."

"Yeah?"

"He's part of a mafia, and apparently they are interested in our little business," Hanji said.

"Mafia!?" Ymir spat out. "WHAT!?"

"M-hm! He used me as a voucher to get in on it after he was denied work everywhere, his life went down the drain until he decided to deal drugs himself, acting as a liaison between various organizations- he works as their interpreter, actually."

Ymir groaned. She was getting pulled even deeper into the crime syndicate, something she tried to avoid for most of her life. "...about the cocaine, did he mention how much they're willing to buy?"

"He said something about 40k a pound, more than double of what Pixis charges," she relayed to her,"and if we give them enough money in return, they are willing to set us up with a penthouse in Mitras. Hell, we can move out of here and be filthy rich. Oh, back to the glamorous life for me~! Nightclubs, parties, it'll be like med school all over again!"

"Did he say we have to meet?"

Hanji nodded as she sat down. "Yup. I'll speak for you guys there this time. Says we will meet the boss himself at Saint Sina Catholic Church in Mitras next Saturday, midnight."

"Church? Who the fuck is this family?"

"The Cult."

"Like the band?"

"No, they are simply called The Cult."


	14. Chapter 14

Hump day.

Hanji called the middle of the week that, though Ymir had no idea what it meant. Hanji was weird, actually, she was getting weirder. Her use of the drug was intensifying by the hour, often at midnight Ymir would hear her snorting obnoxiously.

But no one stopped her.

It was her business.

Ymir was looking over the bills she had to pay, just one more check to fill out and she was done for the day.

Krista and Jean were sharing a hookah, Jean knew better than to come on to the blond girl if he wanted to keep his balls. Smoke rings filled the air as she was learning how to make those circles, laughing as Jean amused her. As long as they gave Krista something to do, her problems could be remedied properly. She hadn't shown any issues, she was growing comfortable in her new home.

New friends, safety, stability, her personality was showing up now.

Most days she smiled, enjoying herself. She wasn't stuck-up, in person, she was quiet and polite; it was quite the opposite story in her music videos. Other days, she displayed some sadness, wallowing in something she couldn't get out of- Ymir made sure to keep her occupied, even talk to her.

From the first day she met her, Ymir never imagined she could act like a fun-loving person.

She thought she found a pious woman that never knew she had a clit.

Nope.

She was something else.

Ymir finished signing the check, she gathered the newly closed envelopes and her keys.

"Going to the post office, I'll be back in a few," Ymir announced.

"Can I come with you?" Krista asked.

"No, remember, you can't be seen."

Krista pouted. "...I like to be wined and dinned before I have sex."

With a snort, Ymir went to her and kissed her forehead. "Next time we go on a run, we'll go to a nice restaurant, alright? Your pick because I know jack shit about eating fine."

"I'll think of a place," Krista told her.

-...-

The post office.

Old and sturdy, it had seen time pass from horses to buggies to cars. Few were parked outside when Ymir rolled up, her attention on the mailbox. She shoved the letters inside the slot and went back on her bike.

Maybe Sasha has some more steak, they needed more food. Nah, maybe not.

Ymir mused as she glanced at the grocery store next to the post office, Krista requested a date...maybe she could make a meal herself. She shrugged and went to the grocers.

Walking down the empty aisles, she searched the fresh produce, getting some plastic bags and picking out tomatoes, onions, garlic, spinach, some herbs, more spices...on and on, she got enough to fit inside the saddle packs on her bike. She also got a $50 bottle of wine, hell, even cheese because why the fuck not?

Oh, Filet Mignon too, that sounds nice.

Perfect.

The cashier was sitting at the register, atop a stool, her attention on a magazine as she chewed on gum nonchalantly. Ymir never seen her before, after all, Asians were a rarity this far out of Mitras. She got out some cash as the lady with the short hair checked out the items.

"...so, never seen you before. You new in town?" Ymir asked, curious.

"Yup," she said, uninterested in conversation.

"You got nice eyes, you know, never seen an Asian with grey eyes."

"My father was white."

"Huh...cool."

"Yeah."

She brought the grocery out and headed back to her bike, she settled everything there and mounted her bike, pulling out of the parking lot.

-...-

Mikasa watched her leave, she took out her phone and texted Levi, signalling to him that Ymir was leaving. It was a guess that Ymir would go to the grocery store, and a lucky one at that- Armin had taken inventory of how much beer Ymir had, in a few days tops she would have to make a run to town to get more. Oddly enough, she had decided that she was going to make dinner.

Whatever the reason, it was enough to draw her out.

"Good luck, Armin," Levi told him as they hit a bump on the road, causing him to stumble in his crouched position. He reached back and have him a pair of glasses that had a small camera and a mic, putting it on him.

He made sure it didn't come with a red, tiny light.

Eren barreled down the road, making sure to reach the intersection of the small town. Brakes screeched as the tires screamed when he stopped in front of Ymir, causing her to shout out,"What the fuck are you doing, prick!?"

She reached for her saddle pack and pulled out a semi-automatic, readying to fight in case it were Annie and the others.

Levi slid the door open, grabbing Armin by the collar. Instantly, he shouted something in German, obviously it made him sound pissed off. He punched Armin in the face some more, just to make sure he was roughed up enough despite him already having a black eye. Armin screamed, it was painful, yes, but he had to do as his superior asked of him.

He shoved Armin out of the black, unmarked van, forcing him to land on his face.

"Jesus Christ!" Ymir cried out as the van drove off, she propped her bike and got off, chasing after the van for a moment. She aimed her gun, ready to shoot but they were already too far. She brought her concern down to the mess of a man on the ground. She crouched down and examined him. "Hey, you there. You holding up?"

Armin shook, staring up at her with eyes wide. He spat up a bit of blood as he said,"J...just fine..."

He was bound by his wrists, she made quick work of untying him and then helping him up. "You must have pissed someone off badly for them to dump you in this shithole."

He nodded. "Very much so. Uh...it was a mafia, I was laundering money from them, took too much I'm afraid."

"...alright. You take care of yourself, man," Ymir said, brushing him off. She went to her bike but he followed her. "What?"

"...do you have a...a place?" He asked in earnest. "I just need a place to hunker down before I make my next move. I...I got the cash!"

Ymir held her palm out, she wanted it up front. "Four hundred."

He nodded, he reached into the back of his pants and pulled out some money he had hid in his boxers. "Here!"

Ymir grimaced; the guy just pulled cash out of his ass. Sick. But hey, it's money. She counted the bills before nodding. "Get on."

"Thank you, thank you so much!" Armin said, grateful. "Oh...uh, my name's Armin!"

"Ymir."

-...-

"Rent is four hundred a month, you can take the couch for now," Ymir told him as she carried the groceries. She led him inside, placing the veggies, cheese, and meat in the fridge for tonight. "Hey, Hanji! Got another one for you!"

Hanji appeared from the hallway, med kit in tow as she strode to the kitchen table, gesturing for Armin to come over to her. He did, letting her scrutinize his face, clicking her tongue in disappointment. "You seem to be attracting all the blonds this month. What happened to this poor baby?"

"Some mafia decided he was having too much of their cash, dumped his ass right here."

Hanji chuckled, shaking her head. "Young people, they need to stay in school."

She took off his glasses and went to work on cleaning up his face. Krista got up from the couch as Jean kept to himself, she went to the young man and greeted him,"Hi, I'm Krista...you already met Ymir, she's the landlord, and this is Hanji, she's real good at helping out. Then there's Jean, he's a dick but he's a really chill guy."

Armin nervously waved at Jean. "So you all just live here?"

"Uh-huh," Krista told him as she went to the liquor cabinet, though she frowned as she took the final beer bottle. "Ymir, we're out of beer."

Ymir shook her head, taking the bottle. "Nuh-uh, that's mine. Give him the scotch."

"Alright," Krista said, compliant. She got a drink for Armin and gave it to him. "Water's not the best here so we drink alcohol here."

Armin hesitated for a moment before he drank it. "Thank you."

Hanji had treated him as best she could, giving him an antibiotic for his busted lip. Done with him, she snatched his glasses. "How blind are you?"

"Not so much, just need it because I'm near-sighted," he said, she wore them, keeping her glasses on her forehead. She looked through them before handing them back. "...so is there anything you people like to do?"

"Well, Armin, if you're in to machinery, you can stick with me," Ymir started,"then if you like getting high, Jean has some stuff for you. Krista is...well, Krista just hangs with me but hands off her if you catch my drift. Then Hanji- oh for fuck's sake, we got a new tenant here!"

Hanji was organizing her new line to use. "What? It's my afternoon bump!"

Ymir rolled her eyes. "...Hanji doesn't need explanation."

She snorted and then sniffled,"If you wanna talk medical stuff, you can come to me."

"Actually, I just want to settle in for a bit," Armin confessed. "I'll crash on the couch."

"Go right ahead," Ymir said, she walked out, Krista and Hanji following her. Ymir understood Krista being at her back, though Hanji was something else. Ymir went to waxing down the car for their next run. "What?"

Krista opened the beer and drank a bit as Hanji sat next to her at the couch. Hanji inquired,"So where did Armin come from?"

"Got dumped in the middle of the street. He hadn't mentioned which syndicate he pissed off but we can ask over dinner," Ymir replied, wiping down the hood of the car. "He got money but only enough for the month, doubt he'll stick long enough."

"A month...suppose he was kicked out rather than killed, what if he plans on staying longer?"

"Then he'll have to get a job, not my business where he comes from." She bent over to run the rag vigorously against the surface.

Krista pipped up. "He seems like a decent being."

Hanji shook her head. "You let a stranger come in when we have a ton of the good stuff. Won't he question where we go on Fridays?"

"He better not if he wants to keep his place here," Ymir told her,"our business is our business, his business is his. Besides...it won't be the first time I had to bust an ass to get someone out of my hair."

"Good lord," Krista murmured, she shuffled a bit on the couch. Hanji touched her shoulder and rubbed it, trying to comfort her. "I hope he doesn't recognize me."

Ymir straightened herself up, sighing. "If it makes you two feel better, I'll leave Jean here on Saturday when we go meet the mafia, also when we go to Pixis for the drop. That way, Jean can keep an eye on him in case he does something. Is that good with the both of you?"

They nodded, feeling much secure of their safety.

"Good. I got plenty of room for an extra body. No one will miss that guy...Hanji?"

"Yeah?" Hanji asked, she sipped from Krista's beer. "What's up?"

"You tortured the fuck out of people...please don't torture the new tenant."

"Fine, I won't even lay a hand on him-"

"Wait a minute, are you guys drinking my beer?"

Hanji and Krista glanced at one another, got up, and speedily walked out before Ymir realized that they had finished it.

"Hey! You assholes, that was the last one, goddamn it!"

-...-

Morning was nearly upon them.

The skies were lit with a dark blue, red and orange smearing it with gold following it, it was like a line was drawn in the sky. It was at this time Hanji went to get a drink to start off the morning before tutoring people in the East cost via internet. She stretched, walking about the house in her underwear and large shirt, her spare hand scratching her belly.

Armin pretended to be asleep when she passed by, he sat up slightly, gaining an easy sight on her as she searched the liquor cabinet.

"Schnaps, schnaps, schnaps," Hanji sang. "Schnaps~!"

There was a perfect view of her ass, Levi blinked several times. He had been monitoring Armin's view since yesterday in the motel in town they were renting- Eren dropped off the van back in the city to get an unnoticeable car for them to travel in.

Here she was, Hanji Zoe. The woman he had been looking for. She had gotten older within the year, no doubt from all the drugs she had taken, all the stress she went through- she had decided to grow out her hair to be long, yesterday she had it tied up but for the morning, she had it loose. Messy and unkempt, just as she was before.

Hanji took several shots of schnaps before belching and putting the bottle away. After that, she went to sit at the table, facing away from Armin. Now she had taken to smoking a cigar while reading an old newspaper, humming.

It went on for an hour, she looked so calm and at home- she didn't look wired up.

"Hm...they finally made a man pregnant?" Hanji asked herself. "Bullshit...it's impossible."

She went outside to burn the paper, then disappeared around the edge of the window.

The camera looked left and right, searching for her.

Armin considered to get up until her voice rang over the mic,"What'cha lookin' at, young man?"

Armin let out a yelp and looked up- Hanji's manic face blew up on the screen, he could clearly see the heavy bags under her eyes. Levi jumped a bit in his bed, then he collected himself as Armin breathed heavily,"Hanji! Oh...um, I woke up and I, uh, wanted to know who woke me!"

"Were you staring at me?"

"Uh...n-no!"

She waved her index finger side to side in his face as though she were admonishing him for being a peeping tom. "It's rude to watch a lady in her underwear...just know I am like this most of the time, so no staring unless you want an unpleasant surprise!"

She giggled and pulled away, skipping to her room.

Armin adjusted his glasses as he muttered to Levi,"The fuck is wrong with that woman?"

"A lot of things, Armin," Levi said, though his agent couldn't hear him. "A lot..."


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Decided to put two chapters together in this one.

Everyone slept, Armin made sure no one was up and about. He headed for the garage, the door opened as slowly as he possibly could.

Levi drank a bit of whiskey as he watched the screen with Mikasa and Eren, so far, Armin didn't seem to be in any immediate danger at the moment. While they sat there, Eren pipped up,"Looks like he's going to deploy the tracker on the car."

Mikasa had her own laptop ready to activate the device and begin logging the activities. She watched as her friend went to the back on the car and stooped low at the rear bumper, leaving a small tracker underneath the bumper, out of sight. A few clicks here and there on her keyboard put the device online- Armin was heading out of the garage and back to his place on the couch.

"Tracking device activated," Mikasa announced.

"Very good," Levi murmured. "Eren, if they ever decide to leave, I want you on the ground to follow but do not engage."

"Yes, sir."

-...-

"Jean, we're going to go to Pixis," Ymir relayed to him in his room.

With the need of his meth lab no longer existing, he was packing away his equipment to sell off to Connie who was willing to partake in the trade. He had his meth ready to be sold though he didn't bother to throw it in with the offer for Pixis. He looked up from the packing peanuts, brow raised. "Ok? What's new other than being fucked by that old man?"

She went in, closing the door behind her. "The girls want you to stay and watch the new guy, they aren't exactly taking it well that he's here. It'll be better if you watch him."

He frowned, turning his attention back to the boxes. "Fine, but I keep the cash from this drop."

"I'm asking you as a friend, dumbass," she said when she sat in his bed. "I'm more concerned for Krista. Hanji can get herself fucked over for all I care but Krista, I don't want her to go back to her father. You saw how he treats her."

Jean held a beaker, he waved it a bit with his words. "It shouldn't be a problem that you brought that guy here."

"Last thing I need are the two most unstable people here to become paranoid. Just do it for me, as a friend...plus, I'll give you 10k, how about that?"

He had to give in. "I'll do it."

"Thanks...and if he talks, get him talking, I want to know more about him. You're better at mellowing guys, I just, y'know, rip their balls off."

-...-

As though the drop was completely nothing, the return trip home was uneventful as usual. Hanji, however, kept looking back, staring at the traffic constantly. Ymir took notice of this after half an hour of being on the freeway, she glanced at the rear view mirror as she questioned her,"What's going on?"

"...there's just this motorcycle that's been following us since we left the club," Hanji told her, staring at the said motorcycle. "I don't like it."

"Maybe they're just going the same direction we are?" Krista asked.

"Yeah, it's just the freeway, we're all going the same way," Ymir agreed with her, laughing under her breath.

Hanji shook her head. "Speed up."

"I'm going a little bit above the speed limit."

"I said speed up!" Hanji demanded, she leaned forward behind Ymir and grabbed her throat; she pointed a gun at Ymir's temple. "Go, go, go, go, go!"

Krista cried out, shouting,"What the fuck is wrong with you!?"

"Floor it!"

"Jesus!" Ymir snarled, she hit the gas harshly, to which she immediately had to weave faster through traffic, causing people to honk their horns. Ymir glanced at the mirror once more to see that the motorcycle kept up. Shit, she may be right. "Let go of me, Hanji, I get it! Can't really drive when you're pointing a fucking gun to my head!"

Hanji relinquished her grip as Ymir barreled down the highway, cutting their trip down rather drastically as the exit emerged in their headlights. She took the exit, taking the off-ramp; she looked to the side as she slowed down- the motorcyclist continued driving on the highway. When they went to a stop at the sign, Ymir sighed and rested, leaning her head back against the headrest.

"...Hanji, don't ever do that again."

Hanji herself remained silent, gun in hand as she looked riled up.

"Really, don't do that."

Ymir calmly rolled the car out into the street- the rest of the ride home was quiet.

-...-

As expected, Armin was sitting in the living room- he had taken to reading one of Hanji's books, which she had written herself, while waiting for their return. Jean stayed in the kitchen, cooking the meal for the women so that they could all eat. Hanji made a rush for her room, slamming the door behind her as Ymir gave Krista the suitcase to put in Jean's room.

"What's up her ass?" Jean asked, stirring the vegetables.

"Decided she wanted to play paranoid bitch," Ymir told him, frowning,"a motorcycle followed on the freeway 'til we got on the off-ramp, he didn't follow us there."

"Maybe Pixis is up to something...told you guys, selling cheap is bad, it makes us a target if his previous supplier is unable to sell anything to him."

Ymir scoffed and went back to the car to fetch two packs of beer that they got before Hanji's moment. She placed them in the fridge, then she headed off to her room to change. Her blazer went off first, then began on her dress shirt as the door opened and in came Krista, the blond turned around as she said,"Zipper."

"Yeah, sure," she replied, her hands deftly undoing the zip and helping her slide the dress down. She kissed her shoulder. "You alright?"

"You had a gun to your head," Krista murmured, she didn't move to face her.

"Wouldn't be the first time someone did that," Ymir told her conversationally. The young woman was disturbed by what happened during the ride, so much so that Ymir had taken it upon her to really question Hanji's sanity. Her behavior was growing erratic, she was literally at the point of bouncing off the walls. "Hanji knows better than to pull the trigger, it's just...her really fucked up way of making someone do something."

"Is it true then?"

"Hm?"

"That she was in Cuba?"

"Now who told you that?"

"Jean, we were drinking one time and he just sort of slipped it out to me."

Ymir rolled her eyes- that guy, it's a wonder how he wasn't dead yet. She laid the dress out on a chair, hanging it by the arm, while she nudge Krista to sit down on the bed. She took off one heel, sliding it gently off of other followed and she sat on the floor, head resting on her knee. "Yes, you're living in a house full of criminals...but they'd b shot and buried in my yard before they could touch you."

"I know you're trying to calm me down, it's just...I dunno, I need to relax. No sex either."

"What do you need? I'll help you get it."

"...I know I just got off it but seeing Hanji like that, it scares me. I just..." She was trying so hard to say the words, she knew Ymir had been doing her best to keep her clean. "...I need some H."

"You know I can't give that to you. Look at where it's gotten you," Ymir told her, frowning, she straightened herself up and held her face. "Look at me, you don't need that shit. I know you're freaking out, just hear me out. I ain't going to die that easily, understand?"

Krista couldn't respond, she just stared at her, those eyes no longer bright. Her breathing was rigid, she was frozen in place, immobilized. Chest heaving, she suddenly took sharp breaths. Ymir let go of her face, confused on what she was doing. She waved a hand in front of her face, trying to get her attention, it didn't work.

"Hey, Krista?" Ymir tried getting her attention. "Krista, snap out of it."

"Can't...can't breathe," she squeaked out.

"Fuck," Ymir muttered, getting up and leaving the door ajar. She rushed to Hanji's room, banging her fist on the door. "Hanji!"

"Not decent!" Hanji sang from her room, probably the desk.

"Bitch, you started this, open up!" Ymir jarred the doorknob, it was locked. She violently pounded the door even more. "Hey! I said open up!"

"Not decent~!"

Jean and Armin got up from the living room, rushing over to Ymir as she was trying to coax Hanji to the door. Worried, Jean grabbed her shoulder and brought her attention on him. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Something is wrong with Krista," Ymir spluttered,"step back!" She backed up, forcing the two men to retreat, and then kicked at the door. Luckily, it opened inwards, her weight being able to destroy the frame as it was decaying. She rushed in, finding Hanji already nude on the bed, giggling. "For fuck's sake! I need you to fucking get up and help her!"

In Ymir's room, Armin examined the woman, she seemed ready to collapse- he touched her face, then checked her pulse. It was obvious, a panic attack- he got up and ran into Hanji's room, though he gawked at her as she smiled up at them. "I-I-I...K-K-"

"Now why is everyone crashing in here?" Hanji inquired, her grin broadened at their dumbfounded face. "Do you need Vicodin, Viagra, Vagina, anything with a "V"? I told you I was indecent."

Ymir was about to deck her out of rage but Armin slapped her chest, keeping her back while asking,"Hanji...uh, what's the injection for a panic attack?"

"Oh?" Hanji got up, Ymir gagged, her face contorting in disgust. What she had never seen before on her body, despite her walking about without pants from time to time, was a tattoo on the small of her back. A pair of wings, one blue and one silver. She was so distracted over that, she failed to see Hanji approach Armin with a small bottle that said Librium and a new syringe. "Who is it for~?"

"Krista," Ymir blurted.

"Then...ah, 24mL for her," she said, she shoved the medication at Armin and shooed them out. "Off you go, go save a life!"

"Why can't you do it!?" Ymir snapped.

"One, I'm naked. Two..." She cackled. "...I'm not the best doctor at the moment!"

The door slammed behind the door, in turn, Ymir pushed Armin into her room. She snatched the needle and bottle and took to measuring the dosage, ignoring the hard rock music that started playing from Hanji's room. She finished filling up the syringe and then injected it into Krista's thigh, emptying it and placing it on the bed. She held her close, trying to soothe her as Jean came back with a paper bag.

"Give it to her," Jean said to Armin, and he did,"put it over her mouth."

Ymir nodded and brought the bag to Krista's lips, covering them and letting her breathe in and out of it. Her breathing began to ease up, little by little, her back covered in sweat. Krista held Ymir's hands as she gotten herself down from that horrid state, her eyes closing, never stopping from breathing.

"She'll be fine," Jean told them as he walked off, Armin followed, closing the door behind him. They sat down in the living room once more. "Panic attack, common in those breaking off from drugs."

"You think that's the cause?" Armin questioned him, Jean glanced at him for a moment before returning to using the hookah. "Ymir said Hanji caused that, I think so too. They didn't come home from clubbing in high spirits."

"Maybe that, maybe not...whatever it was, it's not our business," Jean advised him.

"...do you think Hanji's dangerous?"

"No shit. Woman came from Guantanamo, were you living under a rock? It's the same crazy bitch on the news a year ago, killing her patients," he trailed off to take a hit.

Armin adjusted his glasses, making sure they were suited better on his face.

He let out some smoke rings, puffing them out like they were nothing. "Maybe she still has some sense to not treat Krista in person at the moment. She has a shred of humanity left somewhere in there."

"If you guys know how much of a threat she is, why do you let her live here?"

"Hell if I know, Ymir tells us when someone stays or goes. You got a problem with Hanji, ask Ymir. Personally...I think she's a somewhat of a decent person to be around, like that one crazy aunt in the family." He lowered his voice and leaned towards Armin. "I'd sleep with a gun or a knife if I were you, you know, crashing on the couch in the open. Woman loves experimenting."

Armin nodded. "...got it."

Jean patted his shoulder. "And if you catch her sleep-walking, don't touch her."

"Sleep-walking?"

"Just don't."

He sat back on the couch and smoked once more, watching the football game.

It was like the whole incident was normal to Jean.

Armin fidgeted in his seat a bit, trying to focus on the television.

-...-

Armin did as Jean advised him, though he went the extra mile.

Luckily for him, Levi allowed him to have one gun, a revolver. He couldn't have something from the FBI, it would be too recognizable considering the residents had experience with guns and know when something was issued by the Feds.

He stayed awake the entire time, staring at the ceiling and into nothing.

On the other end of his glasses, Mikasa had her turn at watching after her shift from work at the grocery store. She had a cup of coffee from Levi, she sipped from it as Levi relaxed in bed.

The two never talked to one another, hardly interacting during the duration of their stake out. Only when they thought they saw something on camera did they speak to each other, but for the most part, they remained silent.

"...about Eren," Levi finally spoke, Mikasa didn't look away from the screen. "Tell me about the guy."

"He's Eren. Everything you need to know about him is on record."

"Then he slipped into the FBI to get revenge," Levi concluded. "And you followed as well. Not surprising for you, family's been in government shit for ages."

Mikasa sipped some coffee.

"He's going to have a hard time trying to locate The Cult," he went on. "They've been pretty good at hiding."

"Eren will find them."

Levi merely scoffed. "Tch, doubt it. You make sure he doesn't wander off while we're keeping tabs on Reiss and Zoe...rogue agents tend to do that when they feel like what they are doing is not enough."

-...-

Throughout the day, Ymir avoided Hanji as best she could to show Krista that she was willing to be out of harm's way.

All day they stayed in her room, holding one another, letting the other know that they were very much alive. She engaged in idle conversation, letting the other know a little bit more of themselves. Ymir learned that Krista used to paint, that she loved to go to those parties to be herself out in the world, that she loved to be free.

In turn, Krista discovered Ymir was tired of living in the same town. Day in and day out, it was the same shit all over again, that when Krista came into her life, she made everything much more interesting than any bottle of booze can possibly do.

At this she smiled, kissing Ymir on the nose. "Glad to have dropped out of heaven then."

Ymir chuckled, feeling at ease with her.

Knock! Knock!

Ymir frowned- she forgot the time, it was already ten in the evening. She got up and answered her door to see Hanji dressed in slacks and a dress shirt, looking rather formal, as though she were going to church. Hanji even took the time to tie up her hair in a high pony-tail- Ymir smelled shampoo on her.

"Time for the evening service, ladies!" Hanji chimed, she noticed Krista huddled in bed. She frowned. "What's up with her?"

"Oh, I dunno, you scared the shit out of her last night," Ymir hissed, glaring, Hanji had a moment of realization.

"My, my, I'm so sorry for my display," she said, sincere. Ymir waved her off.

"You say that to her, not me."

Hanji sighed and strode in, she spoke up to Krista,"Um...Krista, about last night- Ymir, close the door."

She did so, leaning against the wall, letting her know she was within reach of her shotguns.

"This may be the first time you're trying to stay off the grid. You're running from your father, me? I'm running from the goddamn government." She lowered herself to the floor, kneeling. "When you've been running for a long time, you start to become...paranoid, scared, and last night, I let the worst get the best of me. I'm being sincere here, Krista, I'm sorry I freaked out."

Krista was fixated on her, without hesitation she stretched out her hand. "I'm going with you and Ymir to Mitras. Give me your gun."

Hanji slowly told her,"...Krista, I'm about to go to the mafia, I really need it-"

"Don't tell me you're scared. Give me your gun," she demanded even more firmly.

Hanji sat there, shocked at her assertiveness. Slowly, reluctantly, she conceded, she undid the holster and removed the entire set and firearm, laying it all neatly on the bed. "Here. Better?"

Krista didn't thank her or anything, she took the holster in hand and took out the gun. She made sure it was loaded and, once assured, she aimed it, placing the barrel on Hanji's forehead- the mad doctor held her hands up in submission.

"Alright, you're still mad-"

"If you ever threaten Ymir like that again, I...I'll kill you."

Hanji nodded vigorously.

"We've come to an understanding."

Ymir whistled lowly, huffing a bit at the girl's sudden change.

There was one more thing Ymir learned- Krista was understanding their lives.

-...-

When they left and pulled out of the driveway, Armin asked Jean,"Where are they going?"

"Fuck if I know," Jean said, drinking beer. He watched some late-night talk show, though he wasn't paying any mind to it. He really wondered where they were going, they took Hanji, and she had a briefcase. They were setting up a deal, he just knew it, and he felt more than left out in what they were up to. He got up. "Ever ridden a motorcycle?"

"Actually, no," Armin confessed.

"C'mon, you're coming with me, ride the back. Wherever they're going, I want to know," he told him, he went to his room, beckoning him to follow. He got on the same suit he wore for the first drop, then he glanced around for something to fit Armin. "Formal clothes...hm..."

"I think Krista washed mine," he said, going to the laundry room. He found his dress shirt and slacks in the dryer, it would work for going out. He put them on and followed Jean out to the garage.

He found Jean holstering two handguns.

-...-

Bells rang, letting out an ominous sound through the streets.

Ymir parked in front of Saint Sina Catholic Church in the parking lot, eyes staring up at the Spanish architecture. Man, Sasha would be ashamed for having such a shithole of a building. A statue of Saint Sina stood within a fountain, praying with her marble building itself was decorated with ornate carvings of angels, the glass was stained, everything looked clean.

Ymir held Krista's arm in hers as Hanji held the briefcase, prancing up the steps to a man that wore a tux, his hair blond and his arms extending to Hanji.

"Doctor, I thought I'd never see you again," he said relieved as he hugged her, she embraced him as well, smiling. "Where have you been all this time?"

"Secrets, Moblit," she teased him,"is your new boss inside?"

"Of course, just about finishing his service," Moblit said, he let her in and then paused Ymir and Krista. "Who are these two?"

"My friends, let them through, they won't bite or kiss-"

A motorcycle's engine came rolling down the street, Hanji tried to go for her gun but remembered Krista had taken it. It parked by Ymir, Jean coming off of with with Armin displeased as he advanced upon her, barking,"Now what the fuck are you doing?"

"...making a deal," Hanji admitted. "We found a better buyer for the stuff."

"Oh really? And you didn't consult me?" Jean accused them, which was true.

Ymir clicked her tongue. Right. She forgot to mention that to him, or did Hanji tell her not to tell him about the overseas account full on money and not the new deal? Maybe both.

Ymir forgot.

"Slipped my mind, now before you anger God in His House, keep quiet," Hanji told him,"Moblit, tell him how much your boss is offering."

"He expresses his interests in 40k per pound of cocaine," Moblit relayed to him, at this, Jean relaxed.

"I'll shut up then," he said, adjusting his tie. "Can we come in? We're with Hanji."

"...uh, sure, just blend in with the crowd," Moblit instructed, he gestured for them to follow and they did, taking their seats in the pews closest to the confession box.

Inside, the sermon rambled on for a few minutes, boring all of them to death as Hanji shook her leg in anticipation, suitcase by her heel. The man at the alter way in the front was tall, his head shaved, his eyes full of fire as he preached about Heathens and Hell, how everyone in this world was damned if they fail to live pious lives.

Ymir yawned as he finished off his service with a prayer, finally, communion.

They didn't get up to drink the wine or eat the bread or even bow their heads, they didn't live good lives.

He stepped down and headed strait to the confession box as church-goers left. It was only a handful but they were so devout to attend so late at night.

Moblit tapped Hanji on the shoulder. "Go ahead, meet him."

As they waited for her meeting to end, a couple people remained, praying to the Saint, for Jesus, God, whatever they normally do. Ymir sat there, hands folded in her lap as another arrival came, going to the front- he was average height, brunette hair, his face they never saw. He sat in front, praying.

"What's taking them so long?" Jean asked. "I don't like this."

"This is a church, it's a safe place," Moblit said.

"I call holy bullshit," Ymir murmured.

Time went on, Hanji came out of the box grinning madly. The group stood up, interested in what she had to disclose but by the look of her, they already knew she closed the deal. She handed the suitcase to Jean, letting him test the weight- he nodded in approval as he began to dance in place, biting his lip, he looked ready to strip.

"Oh, the Cult, they simply are the best," Hanji giddily cheered, though she kept her voice low to avoid the other people from turning their heads.

"Let's go home, guys," Ymir chuckled, they each walked out, Moblit following them, but Armin lagged behind.

"What's wrong?" Krista asked, concerned.

"Need to go to the restroom, where is it?" Armin inquired.

Moblit pointed down the pews. "To the right of the front."

"Thank you."

"We'll be waiting outside," Ymir told him.

-...-

"We hope we can conduct business once more soon," Moblit told them,"same place, same time, considering he bought your stock."

Armin returned, rubbing his hands. "Ready to go."

"Thank you so much, Moblit, I owe you one," Hanji said, grateful of him. She even kissed his cheek, leaving him red. "You are always faithful to me, much I appreciate."

"O-of course, Doctor!"

"Come, let's break out the finest vodka, we will be having a party!" Hanji announced,"Ymir, have Sasha come over! Connie as well!"

Hanji skipped over to their car, she gave a kick in the air, her antics making Ymir laugh, along with Krista- it seemed things had begun to mend themselves between the girl and the madwoman.

"I will, I will," Ymir said, smirking as they got into the car and drove off, Jean and Armin following close.


	16. Chapter 16

Ah, hangovers.

The bane of any party-goer.

Ymir rolled a bit in her pile of cash, removing a hundred dollar bill from between her ass cheeks. Normally she would have been amused but today was a "fuck it" kind of day. Grunting, she reached over to the desk where her phone was at, vibrating obnoxiously against the surface. She answered it, muttering,"The fuck are you?"

"Where is Hanji?" It was that blond man's voice from last night, Moblit. "I need to speak with her."

"I think she's...ugh, she's sleeping on the counter," Ymir recalled, she rubbed her eyes before grasping for the shades and putting them on. "Is there a problem?"

"Very much so."

Ymir grudgingly got out of bed and grabbed a pair of boxers and a tank top, she staggered out of her room, praying she could find Hanji where she saw her last. Lo and behold, she found the woman snoring atop the kitchen counter, holding a bottle of whiskey against her chest as though it were a baby. Ymir shook her, Hanji snorted and smacked her lips with her tongue.

"Not now, Levi," she murmured.

"Hey, wake the fuck up," Ymir uttered, a migraine coming. "Moblit needs to talk to you."

Hanji's eyes fluttered open, she was confused, disoriented, and she barely had the mind to even respond properly. She merely rolled over to her side to avoid Ymir. "I'm busy, urk!"

Ymir rolled her eyes and grabbed her waist with her free hand, dragging her off the counter and to her feet. Hanji immediately vomited to the floor, her hair a down right mess and her glasses askew. She held the counter for dear life, her other hand holding her head. Ymir presented the phone to her, the doctor clutched it and stumbled a bit, heading for the garage.

The two sat on the couch in there, trying to fight through the hangover as Hanji spoke,"What?"

It wasn't on speaker but it was loud enough for Ymir to hear, her hearing was sensitive at the moment. Moblit managed to talk, though he was on the verge of panic,"Pastor Nick, my boss, he...last night, he was killed."

"What?" Hanji asked again, Ymir's eyes widened in disbelief. "But that guy was my friend! He was real nice."

"He's dead, Doctor. Dead in his confession box. I went to get him out of it since he didn't leave for an hour, and when I went in, he was already dead, shot in the head too," Moblit relayed to her. Hanji sat up as though her hangover was gone, she worried at her lip. "The guys, they know you didn't do it. And that's always good, but...they're looking for a guy, I think one of your own."

"One of our own?" Ymir said, she was still holding her head. "...there was me, Krista, Hanji, Jean, then Armin, just five."

"Before you left, the last guy, Armin, I saw him go to the bathroom with someone from the pews. The Cult wants his head, and the other guy he talked to."

The two glanced at one another, mouths agape like idiots. The guy...he seemed odd, he didn't drink or smoke at all except for last night. Ymir was about to get up and deal with him but Hanji grabbed her arm, stopping her. She calmly told Moblit,"Meet me in the back alley of Pixis's nightclub, we'll deal with him there. We'll be going there tonight, midnight. Bring them in."

"I'll try and do that, Doctor," Moblit said, hesitant in his words, he hung up.

"What're you holding me for?" Ymir demanded. "We got a mole living in my house and I don't know where he came from."

"Armin is too clean," Hanji told her,"he doesn't have the balls to kill someone. The little bastard was watching me the other day..." She rubbed her eyes, then she set her glasses on properly but then she pulled them off to stare at them. "...last time they caught me, how they found me, Levi said the agent I killed was wearing glasses that had a camera...Armin is wearing glasses. Too thick for a guy his age, the frames I mean."

"So you're saying we're being watched?" Hanji nodded, Ymir sat back down, groaning- Hanji relinquished her grip on her. "Fuck..."

"I don't want to get rid of him, not yet," she continued. "...hostage, perfect. If the person on the other end of those glasses is who I think it is, I damn well will give him a show to remember. Be careful about this, don't rouse suspicion. Just let him know about our business some more, we bring him with us, then let The Cult take care of him."

"What about us? Me, Krista, Jean?"

"We will have to leave this place. Ymir, check the car, see if anything is up with it. Armin may have tagged it or something," Hanji advised her. She got up and headed for the door. "Wake up Sasha, she'll be keeping the goods at her place."

She suddenly puked over the old radio Ymir used to listen to music while working.

-...-

For the entire day, Jean, Ymir, and Sasha weaned their hangovers by lifting box by box into Sasha's beat up pick-up. Along with those were also Ymir's collection of firearms, she made the excuse she was going to sell them.

Hours went on, Krista, despite her mind being muddled, occupied Armin in Ymir's room, door closed so that he wouldn't see the shipment.

"...I'm sorry about your father," Armin said sincerely, he placed a hand to her shoulder yet she shrugged it off.

"That's how I ended up here," Krista finished,"he sent the FBI looking for me. And right now, being here with Ymir and the others, I feel at place here. No fans, no drama, not even the H, I can really be myself here."

"It must be a hard process, breaking your addiction," he went on. "...you know, I have a couple friends that can help you." She lifted a brow, she was listening. "Rehabilitation, help, we can keep you away from your father."

Krista scoffed, rolling her eyes, she laughed a bit. "I already have that here."

"But it's dangerous with these people. Guns, drugs, what if they get caught? You'll be charged for being an accomplice."

She shook her head.

"The other night, you had a panic attack. Why was that? You don't have to say."

Krista held her blanket a bit tighter, she didn't respond for a minute or so until she managed to say,"We were...going home from the club, Hanji started freaking out. She thought someone was following us so she put a gun to Ymir's head to get her to drive faster. I kept a hold on myself until we got home. I...never felt so scared in my life."

"Hanji was the reason then...you do know who she is, right?"

"Who doesn't? Despite that...I'm going where Ymir goes, she listened to me."

Armin licked his bottom lip, thinking about who else she could have interacted with. "What about Sasha?"

"She's nice but she's too much of a kiss-ass."

"Ah. So you and Ymir, you're together. Did she force it on you?"

She stared at him in disbelief. "Weren't you listening? She helps me, I chose to date her, in all honesty, I made the first move on her."

"Really?" He took in the information, not knowing what to do. While he was trained to separate work from morality, he had to pity her for wanting to escape her father, everything she had wanted to run from. When she nodded, sure of herself, he adjusted his glasses a bit. "You have a sound reason to stay with Ymir. I hope you two the best."

-...-

"Armin~!" Hanji rang when the night cloaked over the desert home. "Where are you?"

Armin was sitting in the living room as Ymir and Krista went out to the barn to check on the horses- from the flashlight seen through the window, they were coming back. He turned to see her approaching, smiling broadly. "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing. The girls and I are having a night out, touring the city, all that good stuff in Mitras," she trailed on. She stood directly behind him, her hands behind her back- she didn't look dressed for a time in the club, she had on her formal attire, the same from last night. "We were wondering if you wish to come along? It'll be fun!"

He looked up and down her person, she never invited him to come anywhere with them. He knew something was off but if she insisted, he would have to go, he didn't want his cover blown. He fixed his glasses a bit and nodded. "Sure, I'll come. Is there anything I have to wear?"

"Nope. It's a last minute thing, you're fine the way you look," she said, he got up and followed her to the garage where the rest of them were standing about- Ymir and Krista, where was Jean? He hadn't seen him all day. "Well, ladies, we got a man to escort us~!"

Ymir chuckled and watched him go close. "Glad to have you tag along."

"Suppose he doesn't like to come with us?" Krista asked, she smiled as well, clinging to Ymir's arm. "He looks a bit nervous."

"Nervous?" Hanji glanced at him for a moment. "Nah, he just never been surrounded by beautiful women."

Their smiling, it was off, they wouldn't be smiling unless they got paid- they seemed to be mocking him. He brought himself to speak up,"What is going on-?"

Jean had been hiding behind the door, he approached Armin with a potato sack and then brought it over his head, covering him. Upon struggling, Hanji grabbed a nearby shovel and slammed him over the back of his head. He groaned when he fell to the floor, knocked out cold. Ymir came over and picked him up, slinging him over her shoulder as Krista opened the trunk.

"Let's go out," Hanji said after Krista slammed the trunk closed.

-...-

"Shit!" Mikasa uttered.

Levi got up from his chair, leaving the laptop on the desk. "She figured us out."

"How!?" Mikasa got her holster on and then tossed his over to him.

"I told you, she's a smart woman," Levi uttered as they ran across the hallway. He leaped over the landing closest to the ground, making a beeline to the can, Mikasa following close, jumping over the railing as well. He started the car and backed out, barely missing Connie as he walked by, carrying some beer. Once they drove off, he texted Ymir.

'Heading to Reiss'

Ymir checked her phone for a moment as she tore down the dirt road, going further into the main road- the Feds will lag thanks to Krista's idea, plus, the motel was about twenty minutes away. No problems so far. She shook her head and drove faster, Hanji cackling behind her.

By the time they reached the highway, Mikasa announced from her seat in the back of the van. "Looks like they're taking the trails to Hermiha."

"Trails? Goddamn it, are there any roads?" Levi asked, stepping harder on the pedal.

"Yeah, we can cut them off two miles ahead!"

They reached the road that crossed paths with the fugitives. He parked on the side of the road; they both got out of the van and hid behind it, waiting for the sound of the engines.

Mikasa glanced at the monitor through the open back door, reporting,"They're coming close."

They both aimed their guns in the cars direction, though they didn't hear any engine- rapid footsteps thundered out in the brush. Levi listened even more, confused over what was going on. He stood up form his position, glaring into the darkness. He reached for his flashlight and shinned it into the thicket, revealing a pair of horses galloping towards them.

"...the tracker says they're closing in," Mikasa uttered in disbelief, she relaxed her firing arm and stared at the two startled horses. They ran passed them, Levi watching them carefully, swearing that he saw a red light beeping on one of their faces. "...oh no."

Levi slapped the side of the van, grunting,"Fucking bitch! Get back-up on this, I want a complete search of their house, see where they went!"

-...-

Just the same as it was since their first transaction, the alleyway behind the club was as secluded and dank. The only noticeable difference were five people- one was tall, blond, his mustache stood out the most, two other men lacked notable features, and then finally, a woman who seemed to compliment the tall blond one, her hair short.

Moblit stood in front of them when the Ymir and the others approached, Jean ushering Armin. The young man could barely stand as he breathed heavily.

"Doctor Hanji," Moblit introduced,"this is the family of The Cult. Mike Zacharias, Dimo Reeves, his son Flegel Reeves, and finally, Nanaba. All four were Lieutenants under Pastor Nick served him well and strong."

"And then the underboss, where is he?" Hanji asked, wondering aloud.

"You're staring at him," Moblit told her,"ranks shifted a bit on the last minute. As for now, my first order of duty is to, as protocol, have revenge for the sake of the family. I take it that the man is under the sack there?"

Jean kicked Armin between the two groups, the man landed on his front as his hands were tied back, keeping him from catching himself. "Here's the son of a bitch."

Moblit walked up to Armin, readying his gun, until Hanji spoke up,"He's a Fed."

"All the more to kill him," Nanaba said, glaring at the young man on the ground.

"Yes, yes, true, though I suggest we hold on to him for a long while," Hanji suggested,"he works for Levi Ackerman."

"Ackerman?" Mike asked, surprised. "What proof is there?"

"My gut feeling," she told him, she walked up to Armin and grabbed him by his hair. "Who do you work for?"

Armin strangled out,"...go to Hell-"

She punched him.

"R...Revi Ackerban...hng..."

"See?" She threw him down. "With him on our tail, I have reason to believe he may have possibly called the hit on Pastor Nick. God bless him, truly, he was a good Christian." Moblit holstered his gun and stepped back. "I want to take down that son of a bitch before he takes me, and this boy, he's our tool to get to him. He's young, inexperienced, no doubt Levi would have a soft spot."

"In return for keeping him alive, what will you give?" Moblit inquired.

"Money, cocaine, a better leader," Hanji listed off her fingers. "Jean is a smart man. Normally when bosses are taken down, so will be the organization. Let me guess, your associates have pulled their money out from your funding, business will go down substantially. Is that not true?"

Grudgingly, he nodded. "We've lost many of our clients."

"No head, no body, no production, no cash. I can offer you money and enough cocaine to get the family back on its feet, I offer a wonderful accountant, I can offer you a thief, and finally, I can offer you an expect in mechanics and vehicle modification." She brought a hand towards the group behind her. "My turn. These are my own associates; myself, Jean Kirstein, Historia Reiss, and Ymir."

"We have many of those-"

"Had, more likely. You fail to pay them, you lose them. Remember? Your boss is gone." She strutted over to them, smiling widely, she offered her hand. "I can pay you even more than your old boss. What do you say?"

Dimo Reeves added,"She's right. Besides, this is Hanji Zoe, the Mad Doctor...anyone would fear her if they knew she was running the show."

"Oh? It seems I have a reputation already," she praised herself. "Shake on it, Moblit? It'll be like old times."

Moblit stared at her hand- it was true that she helped him before her final days in her old business, prevented him from being listed as an accomplice, though he did end up working underground since then. With her back, surely she would watch over him once more. Immediately, he shook her hand and she took his vigorously.

She tore her hand away as she yipped, jumping in the air to punch it, shouting,"YAHOOOOO!"

"Come, we will head over to-"

Hanji relaxed and placed a finger on his lips. "Armin there not only has glasses, he also has a camera and a wire. Take us there without telling us where we go."

"...of course, Doctor."

Ymir held Krista's hand, tight, she never expected things to escalate this far. It turned out they were moving out, just as Krista wanted, though never like this. As they walked to the car, she muttered under her breath,"The crazy woman got her drugs, the crazy woman got her money, the crazy woman is now the fucking boss of a mafia, shit can't get any worse than this."

"Don't worry," Jean told her, he dragged Armin with him. "We're hitting it big now. I always wanted to be a big time drug dealer. Wonder if I'll be Lieutenant..."

"It's not about status, she didn't even ask us if we wanted in on this," Ymir murmured as Hanji skipped by them, ecstatic. "I don't like this, Jean."

"Live a little! Welcome to the club of felons," Jean laughed,"just wait for the cash to roll in!"

-...-

"Thank you," Zoe told a man, a door closed in the background; through the sack was a muddled, bright light that shined over Armin as he sat on a chair, the sack still on his head. "Oh, Armin, Armin, Armin...if only did you not slink around back at home, you would have had it easy. You told someone about Pastor Nick, next thing that happened, he was killed. Are you aware of that?"

Armin breathed heavily- his mouth was filled with blood as his tongue played with a tooth that was knocked out. He nodded.

"What is she doing?" Mikasa asked as they watched the screen- several agents were in the background bagging evidence, searching the home for any leads as to where they went.

"Taunting us," Levi answered, never taking his eyes off the sack.

Zoe's voice went on,"You must have an entire squad watching this...or, it could just be Levi."

The sack was removed from his head, blinding the camera for a moment until it adjusted its lenses to compensate for the brightness. Zoe stood before Armin, hands folded behind her back. It was difficult to determine where she was as the background only had a white cloth covering his line of vision. Armin tried to give a better view of the room to give Levi a clue as to where he was but something prevented him from moving his head.

"Hello, Levi~!" Zoe chimed, waving at the camera. "I had the liberty to remove the tracker on the car and even the glasses hours ago, along with turning off the wire, no doubt you'd be trying to hear our conversation, maybe locate us, all of which is private- I do hate nosy people. Sooo, how've you been?"

She paused as though he would answer her.

"Oh, that's interesting," she said, tone laced heavily with sarcasm. "Listen here, Levi. I have Armin with me and-" Zoe reached over for someone, it turned out to be Reiss. "-this pretty one here. So unless you want something to happen to both of them, I suggest you do not bother me for a really long time. No worries, Levi, I'll be taking care of these two very well, except Armin."

She danced a bit, a really poor way of dancing- who the hell does krumping these days?

"Too bad you were too cautious, you would have caught me earlier."

"Hanji, wrap it up," Ymir said from behind Armin.

Zoe snapped to attention, she waved once more at the camera. "I'll keep you updated, don't try to contact me. Good-bye, Shorty~!"

The camera turned off, leaving the screen blank.

Levi covered his face in his hands, at that point, Eren's voice came in through the doorway. "Mikasa? Ackerman, sir?"

"In here," Mikasa called to him.

He approached from around the corner. "Where's Armin? Why isn't he here? What happened?"

"They have Armin," she told him as Levi was too pissed to even answer. Eren froze in place, anger beginning to seep into his blood as well. "We'll get them, Eren."


End file.
